# Anna Haugh

Anna Haugh (born 6 November 1980) is an Irish chef, restaurateur and TV personality.

## Biography

Born in Dublin, Haugh grew up in Tallaght. She attended Presentation Secondary School in Terenure and trained on a professional cookery course at the TU Dublin School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology in Dublin. She began her career in the city, with Derry Clarke of L'Ecrivain. Haugh then moved to London where she worked with Philip Howard, Shane Osborn and Gordon Ramsay. Haugh also worked with Gualtiero Marchesi in Paris.
In May 2019, she founded the Myrtle Restaurant in Chelsea, London, named after Myrtle Allen, Irish Michelin star-winning head chef and co-founder of Ballymaloe House.

## Media career

Haugh's first documented role in television was in BBC's The Stress Test (2004) while working at Pied à Terre with Shane Osborn. She appeared as a guest judge on Gordon Ramsey's U.S. show Hell's Kitchen in 2013 and was a chef on BBC's Ready Steady Cook presented by Rylan Clark-Neal.
Haugh co-presented two seasons of BBC's Royal Recipes with Michael Buerk, has appeared as a guest judge on Masterchef with John Torode and Gregg Wallace and as a guest on Sunday Brunch with Simon Rimmer and Tim Lovejoy. She has also appeared as a guest on Tastemade with Numra Siddiqui.
In 2020 Anna competed in and won an episode of Channel 4's Snackmasters against Michelin starred chef Aktar Islam.
Anna regularly appears on Saturday Kitchen and is a resident chef on Morning Live with Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones.
Haugh was the guest chef who set the dish challenges for the contestants on the BBC's Celebrity Masterchef, in the 11th episode (Series 17) which was broadcast in September 2022. The contestants in the episode were Lisa Snowdon, Kitty Scott-Claus, Katya Jones and Ryan Thomas.
In 2022, Haugh replaced Monica Galetti as a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals, for the fifteenth series only.
In March 2023, Anna was co-host of Grilled, a podcast by The Staff Canteen, where she interviewed a number of hospitality personalities including presenter Leyla Kazim and Saturday Kitchen's Matt Tebbutt.
In 2024, Haugh opened a wine bar called The Little Sister at the chef's Myrtle restaurant in London.
In early 2025, Haugh presented a fifteen-part cookery series called Anna Haugh’s Big Irish Food Tour, which aired on BBC One Northern Ireland.

## Inspirations

In 2023, during Series 5 Episode 1 of the Grilled podcast by The Staff Canteen, Anna revealed Monica Galetti was her favourite TV chef judge explaining that she was true to herself, and paved the way for women in the industry and high-end competitions.
Explaining why Monica influenced her, Anna said: "It was big shoes to fill but she paved the way for a female judge to come in and it should not be something to be taken for granted."

## Awards

In 2019, Haugh won Best International Chef award at the FOOD AND WINE Awards.
Myrtle Restaurant, located on Langton Street, London was awarded 3 AA Rosettes in 2021.

## Books

* Cooking with Anna (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024) ISBN 9781526667212

## References and sources

* 1 2 "Anna to cook up a storm". www.echo.ie.
* ↑ "Irish chef's new London restaurant is a tribute to Myrtle Allen".
* 1 2 "Anna Haugh Wins International Chef Of The Year". Food & Wine Ireland.
* 1 2 "A breath of fresh Éire: Anna Haugh on her debut restaurant Myrtle". bighospitality.co.uk.
* ↑ "Anna Haugh recipes". BBC Food.
* ↑ Shennan, Rhona. "Monica Galetti: why did former MasterChef judge leave show, who is replacing her, where is her restaurant?". National World. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
* ↑ "My Signature Dish: Anna Haugh". stiritupmagazine.co.uk. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
* ↑ "Celebrity guests including Katherine Ryan, Dennis Taylor, Ed Byrne, Shayne Ward, Laura Whitmore and Carl Frampton join Anna in the new 15-part series". bbc.com/mediacentre. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
* 1 2 "'It was big shoes to fill but she paved the way for a female judge to come in'". The Staff Canteen. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
* ↑ "Anna Haugh Wins International Chef Of The Year". FOOD&WINE Ireland. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
* ↑ Kante, Sarah (4 November 2021). "The best restaurants in the country named in new awards - 'mouth-watering'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
* ↑ "The AA announces new rosettes for SOLA, KOL, Myrtle and more..." Hot Dinners. Retrieved 10 December 2021.