Monica Galetti
Galetti (left) assisting Michel Roux Jr. while Olly Smith narrates MasterChef Live 2009
Born	Monica Faʻafiti (1975-08-26) 26 August 1975 (age 49) Pago Pago, American Samoa
Spouse	David Galetti (m. 2004)
Children	1

Monica Galetti (née Faʻafiti, born 26 August 1975) is a Samoan-born New Zealand Chef. She is a judge on the BBC competitive cooking programme MasterChef: The Professionals and was the chef proprietor of Mere in London before its closure.^[1][2] She was senior sous-chef at Le Gavroche in London. As well as appearing as a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals from 2009 to 2024 she has also presented Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby with Giles Coren and Rob Rinder since 2017.

Galetti was born in Samoa, a Polynesian island country, and was initially raised by two aunts in Upolu as her mother had moved to Auckland, New Zealand, for work.^[3] At the age of eight, Galetti moved from Samoa to Wellington, New Zealand, and lived there with her parents and five siblings.^[4][5][6] She attended Naenae College^[7] In the early 1990s she studied for a diploma in hospitality at the Central Institute of Technology, Upper Hutt.^[6]

After completing her studies, Galetti worked at Lower Hutt restaurant Timothy's. The owner sent her to cooking competitions in Australia, America and Europe, and she began to look for a position in London by sending her CV to top restaurateurs. The first offer she received was from Michel Roux Jr – a beginning position as first commis at his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Gavroche, well below her position in Wellington as chef de partie.^[6] She accepted the offer and moved to London in 1999. She worked rapidly through the sections of the kitchen and became senior sous-chef, a position she held until 2015.^[8][9][10] She was the first woman to hold such a senior position at the restaurant.^[6]

While working for Roux, she launched and was Head Chef of the restaurant Le Gavroche des Tropiques in Mauritius.^[11]

She was a judge on the BBC series MasterChef: The Professionals from 2009 to 2021, before she was replaced by Anna Haugh citing she felt it necessary to prioritise her family and her restaurant team, and has appeared as a presenter on other food-related television programmes.^[12][13][14] Though, in March 2023, Galetti announced she would be returning as a judge on the show.^[15]

In 2017, along with her husband David, she opened a new restaurant in London called Mere. This was achieved with backing from Westbury Street Holdings chairman Alastair Storey.^[16] Mere closed in 2024.

Galetti serves as a UK Tourism Ambassador for Samoa.^[1] She appeared in the BBC’s radio programme Desert Island Discs on 31 January 2021.^[17]

In March 2023, Galetti announced she would be returning to MasterChef: The Professionals as a judge, after she stepped down from the role in 2022.^[18][19]

• Galetti, Monica (2012). Monica's Kitchen. London: Quadrille Publishing. ISBN 978-1849491037.
• Galetti, Monica (2016). The Skills: How to become an expert chef in your own kitchen: 120 recipes, tips and techniques. London: Quadrille Publishing. ISBN 978-1849497640.
• Galetti, Monica (2021). At Home: my favourite recipes for family & friends. London: Aster. ISBN 978-1783254873.

In January 2022 it was announced that Galetti would sit as a judge on The Platinum Pudding Competition, a nationwide baking competition launched on 10 January 2022 by Buckingham Palace, Fortnum & Mason and The Big Jubilee Lunch to find a new pudding dedicated to Queen Elizabeth II as part of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II.^[20][21]

In 2004, Galetti married French-born sommelier David Galetti, the Head Sommelier at Le Gavroche.^[22] They have one daughter, born in 2006.^[3]