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Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Gregg Wallace hits back at sexual misconduct claims in latest online rant as sacked MasterChef star insists no one came forward during BBC investigation
Sacked MasterChef host Gregg Wallace maintained his innocence on Monday after being accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behaviour during his time on the show. Wallace faces an uncertain professional future after his 19-year tenure on the show was curtailed by his BBC employers in 2024. A subsequent investigation into the former greengrocer's behaviour on set concluded that the 'majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour'. It added that 'a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated', with 'one incident of unwelcome physical contact' also substantiated. Taking to Instagram on Monday, a defiant Wallace, 60 - who strenuously denies the allegations - insisted no one complained about sexually inappropriate behaviour while the investigation was being carried out. He said: 'Sexual harassment allegations... I think what I'm about to tell you may surprise you. In the six, seven month investigation there was no evidence of sexual harassment. 'Do you know why? Because nobody ever brought that complaint to the investigation in the first place. Now, after everything you've been reading and listening to, doesn't that surprise you?' Wallace appeared to be reiterating earlier claims, made by the sacked presenter in an Instagram post the previous day, during which he insisted there were 'no findings in the investigation he took his trousers down in front of anybody'. He said: 'Would you like the truth about the stories regarding me taking my trousers down, listen. There are no findings in the investigation that I took my trousers down in front of anybody 'And any claim that the investigation report says any different is simply not true, no matter where that comes from. 'So I'll say it one more time. There is no finding in the investigation that I took my trousers down in front of anybody. Any claim that the report says differently is not true. 'I hope that clears it all up for you.' Last month, Wallace hit out at critics for comparing him to disgraced presenter Jimmy Savile and former newsreader Huw Edwards, insisting he is 'not a groper, sex pest or a flasher'. Wallace tearfully apologised to anyone he had hurt in the wake of dozens of allegations of inappropriate behaviour, including claims that he dropped his trousers in front of staff. In his first interview since being sacked by the BBC in light of the complaints, Wallace broke down in tears as he spoke of the 'hurt' suffered by him and his family, insisting he had been unfairly treated in the media spotlight. He told The Sun that he understood some of his actions may have offended people and 'weren't socially acceptable' but denied being a 'wrong-un'. 'I'm not a groper. People think I've been taking my trousers down and exposing myself - I am not a flasher. People think I'm a sex pest. I am not,' he added. Wallace said that being discussed in the same breath as notorious sex offenders Savile and Edwards was 'horrific' and admitted he was scared to go outside in case people 'abuse' him in the street. He insisted he is 'not trying to play the victim' and claimed his autism diagnosis was partly responsible for some of his alleged behaviour as it means he struggles 'to read people' and can be perceived as 'odd' at times. The former presenter also defended revelations that he would not wear underwear while working on the cooking show, saying it was due to his 'hypersensitivity' as a result of the condition. Wallace claimed that he had worked with around 4,000 people, meaning that just 0.5 per cent of those he has worked with 'found fault with me'. He said his actions were the result of learned behaviour and workplace culture and claimed that his recent autism diagnosis also played a role. 'I know I am odd. I know I struggle to read people. I know people find me weird. Autism is a disability, a registered disability,' he said. Wallace has since faced backlash from autism charities over similar claims, with some accusing him of using autism as an excuse for his alleged inappropriate behaviour. Seema Flower, founder of disabilities consultancy Blind Ambition, told BBC News there was 'no excuse' for being inappropriate to people in society. Wallace has previously said he felt the BBC failed to provide enough support for his condition during his 20 years working on MasterChef. 'My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef,' Wallace said. 'Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years.' During the interview, Wallace also defended his sacked former co-host John Torode, telling the paper he is 'not a racist'. Torode was the subject of an allegation about using racist language that was upheld as part of a review carried out by law firm Lewis Silkin into the alleged behaviour of co-presenter Wallace. Torode said he had 'no recollection of the incident' and was 'shocked and saddened' by the allegation. Pointing to the allegation against Torode, Wallace told the Sun: 'I've known John for 30 years and he is not a racist.'
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
MasterChef 2025 contestants - Meet the Heat 4 hopefuls
MasterChef is back uncovering the country's best amateur cooks as they battle it out in the MasterChef kitchen. Who will be the 2025 Champion? Let's meet the Heat 4 contenders... Please note this information is accurate at the time of filming; certain aspects may have since changed but this represents the contributors as the competition starts. Watch MasterChef Heat 4 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from Thursday 14 August at 8pm Read more: Meet the MasterChef 2025 contestants - Heat 3 GM Meet the MasterChef contestants Emily Advanced Podiatrist, Aged 50 Emily lives in Wales with two of her three children. She was born in Manchester but grew up in southern Ireland. How would you describe your style of cooking? I love home grown kitchen herbs and fresh local food, grown and raised with love. There is Irish influence in all of my cooking. Without being too 'Little House on the Prairie' and too wholesome about it, think anything between 'Anne of Green Gables' to 'Chocolat' and 'Amelie' to 'Julia Childs' or 'Mrs Beeton'. It's vintage, budget, homely food, made with passion and emotion, grown and reared by people who care - if possible - and a homage to Ireland, with a hint of Italian. Food is getting increasingly expensive and feeding your family home-cooked food rather than ultra processed is a real challenge with money, time and advertising power. How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory? How I got into cooking involves my dad, who died from cancer when I was in my first year at university, he taught me to cook as a very young girl. I have memories of standing on my dad's toes holding his knees for dear life and being danced around the kitchen as we waited for the oven to produce the roast or the cake to rise. As I grew older, he would role-play being Head Chef and I would be his Sous. He was passionate about his produce, and we always had a veg garden and hens and for a while, with crazy goats for milk and cheese. Sometimes we don't appreciate these memories as kids until older, and today these are precious to me. I hope to pass on food memories to my three children and at some stage in their lives, they will find peace and feel a connection to family through food creativity and eating. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? This is a difficult question as there are quite a few favourite ingredients. I'm slightly obsessed with whisking and the folding of whisked eggs and flour, and the delicacy involved. Eggs it is - custards, tiramisu, ice cream, panna cotta, semifreddo, sponge. Not the taste particularly but the act itself is slow and involves emotion. I also love working with edible flowers. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? Applying for MasterChef was a dream. I had moved to Wales and was working in the NHS and I saw the advert. My impulsive streak came out and I just started filling in the initial application, despite my fear. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? In my work, I see some patients who have to be amputated due to diabetes and circulation problems. I'm inspired by my patients every day to stop the flow of chronic disease and go upstream to prevention. Food and movement are key here. Fighting obesity, diabetes and peripheral arterial disease starts with the food we eat and how much we move. So I aspire to help young people to cook and find joy in food and pleasure in cooking – remember how to gather around a table and put away our phones and connect. When I was a podiatrist back home, I'd sometimes travel to people's homes, farms and islands to treat them. I would always be offered a tea cake or scone or the family brown soda bread. I would love to capture those recipes and keep them alive. Fay Financial Management Consultant, Aged 31 Fay lives in London. She was born and grew up in Tunisia. She went to university in China and lived in Hong Kong for eight years prior to moving to London. How would you describe your style of cooking? My style is Tunisian inspired, Asian fusion. It reflects my life journey from North Africa to Asia and now with a modern European touch. How did you get into cooking? I did cooking classes for kids after school on Saturdays when I was 10 years old. Earliest cooking memory? My earliest cooking memory is cooking with my grandma and baking with my mum for the week What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? My favourite ingredients are harissa, butter and soy sauce. All of them can make your dish taste ten times better! Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I have to say a massive thank you to my friend Sandeep who pitched this idea to me and who I still haven't told! Do you have a dream of working in the food world? I would want be a voice for Tunisian food in the UK. Shockingly London has less than two Tunisian restaurants, so putting my culinary heritage on the food map is the main driver for me. I would love to open my own restaurant one day. Gabriel Personal Trainer, Aged 29 Gabriel has always lived in London. He currently lives with his wife Holly. How would you describe your style of cooking? I really enjoy cooking food that people actually want to eat, nothing too fussy, just delicious and comforting. When I'm hosting friends, I usually lean into Mexican. It's vibrant, fun and perfect for sharing. I also love pulling inspiration from places I've travelled recently, like Italy, where the simplicity and bold flavours really stuck with me. I try to cook as many different cuisines as possible. Italian and pasta dishes are my speciality, but I also cook a lot of Asian dishes too as they can be tasty and fairly healthy. How did you get into cooking? I've always been into food and cooking. It's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. My passion comes from my dad, who's the ultimate host. We would always spend Saturday morning watching cooking programmes and learning all of the techniques. We've even attended a couple of cookery classes together. Earliest cooking memory? My earliest cooking memory is my grandpa (Papou in Greek), who used to do Souvla in the garden every Sunday on a spit. I just remember the first time he used a small knife to slice off some of the crispy edges and give it to me. To this day, I think that's still the best mouthful of food I've ever eaten. My dad worked in my grandfather's restaurant, and some of my earliest memories are being in the kitchen with him. I think I was about five when I started 'helping out' by serving ice cream to the guests. It was my first taste of hospitality, and I've loved it ever since. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? Olive oil has to be the best cooking ingredient. As a Cypriot, it's used in absolutely everything - and not just a drizzle, we're talking generous pours. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? MasterChef has been a show that I've grown up watching - every series. I believe now is the right time for me. I've really homed in on my skills in recent years since meeting my wife and having someone else to cook for and impress on a regular basis. Not only would I love to challenge myself and advance my cookery skills, but I also believe I have the ability to win the show. I would love to use MasterChef to launch a career in food. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? Working in the food world has always been a dream of mine. Whether it's releasing my own cookbook or opening a restaurant, I've always felt called to create something that brings people together through food. If I were to open a restaurant, it would be named in honour of my late grandpa. I would try to make it as much like a Greek Taverna as possible, with a simple menu, locally grown food and a great atmosphere. Mickaël Teacher, Aged 46 Mickaël lives in London with his wife and two sons. He was born and went to University in Martinique, French West Indies. He has also lived in Jamaica, Paris and England. How would you describe your style of cooking? My cooking style is a fusion of Caribbean roots with bold Indian and Asian influences. Lately, I've been focusing on healthy, high protein, plant-based recipes. How did you get into cooking? I got into cooking late, but it seemed like a natural path to follow. I think it was through watching my mum and sisters cook. It was out of necessity at first and then it became a passion. It's like art. Earliest cooking memory? My earliest memory was when my mum and sisters were making cakes when I was not even 10, and I would whisk the batter. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? Scotch bonnet pepper. For me it's the essence of Caribbean cuisine. People think heat when they hear scotch bonnet, but it also used to give the food an unbelievable flavour in long slow cooked dishes when used whole and not letting it burst. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I entered MasterChef as I wanted to challenge myself and this is a programme I've been watching for at least a decade and wanted to showcase my cooking and style of cuisine. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? I would love to be a food influencer marrying my cooking skills with videography and editing skills. Nick Personal Carer, Aged 39 Nick lives in Essex with his wife and two children. He was born in London and grew up in Essex. How would you describe your style of cooking? My style of cooking very much depends on my mood. I enjoy attempting fine dining and am very keen to present food well although it doesn't always work out like that! I love cooking Asian food but also enjoy making a good burger. How did you get into cooking? I loved cooking as a teenager. As I got older, I was responsible for making my own dinners and didn't like the same things all the time so tried to be more creative as I became more competent and confident. I chose Food Tech as a GCSE, which was laughed at by many, but I loved it. Earliest cooking memory? I remember watching cooking shows from a young age, at the time a Gary Rhodes Christmas Special stands out as a catalyst for wanting to cook more. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? I love cooking pork (mainly for the crackling) as I feel there is so much you can do with it. I'm also a massive fan of vegetables and like to try to elevate the flavour to make them more interesting. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I entered MasterChef because I wanted to see how good I could be. I love cooking and it's the one thing I feel confident with, but I wanted to cook for strangers to get the most honest opinions of food. I've never had ambitions to win the competition, I just wanted to see where I was at. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? Moving forward I would love to be able to start a supper club with taster menus. I wouldn't want to focus on one particular cuisine but allow people to give suggestions then I can create a menu accordingly. I absolutely love planning and designing menus. Peter Floor Fitter, Aged 45 Peter lives in Cumbria. He was born and raised in Staffordshire. How would you describe your style of cooking? I would describe my cooking style as traditional, taking inspiration from locally-sourced, wild produce that includes fish and game. How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory? I was first interested in cooking in my early 20s, with my first of many cookbooks being The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver, which I still refer to today. I'm a self-taught cook, although my mum is a great cook and my grandparents were always baking. I was very lucky at home; my mum always cooked really well and in particular a Sunday lunch. My cooking nowadays ties back to what my mum did when we were younger - traditional home-cooked food. My dad would often go to the butcher's on the weekend. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? Wild game like pigeon and pheasant has a beautifully distinctive flavour so I think that tops the list of favourite ingredients. It's also a healthy choice and tastes incredible when cooked simply, especially over open coals. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I entered MasterChef on a complete whim. I've always loved cooking. I think I'd had a glass too many of red wine one evening and just fired an email off after watching an episode at my mom's and then never gave it another thought. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? I don't have a foodie dream as such, but if I could cook and feed people lovely wild ingredients over coals and convert just a few to embrace an alternative to a supermarket chicken, then I'd be happy. Follow for more
BBC News
21 hours ago
- BBC News
MasterChef 2025 contestants - Meet the Heat 3 hopefuls
MasterChef is back uncovering the country's best amateur cooks as they battle it out in the MasterChef kitchen. Who will be the 2025 Champion? Let's meet the Heat 2 contenders... Please note this information is accurate at the time of filming; certain aspects may have since changed but this represents the contributors as the competition starts. Watch MasterChef Heat 4 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from Wednesday 13 August at 8pm Read more: Meet the MasterChef 2025 contestants - Heat 4 GM Aileen School Admission Assistant, Aged 51 Aileen lives in Cheshire with her daughter and son. She was born and raised in Hong Kong where she's lived for most of her life. She has also lived in Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and went to university in Canada. How would you describe your style of cooking? I would describe my style of cooking as versatile. I like to make classic Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, French but I also like to twist things to make them fusion. How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory? My mum and grandparents taught me to cook. I have always loved food since I was very young. It's only natural that I would want to learn to cook when I was old enough. I also learned to cook by following well known chefs - Nigella Lawson, Jaime Oliver, Martin Yan and Kylie Kwong. The first time I ever tasted a foreign cuisine was when my grandad cooked cauliflower in milk and cheese. This was a big novelty dish for me at eight years old. We didn't have many chances to taste 'Western' food at that time. My grandad worked as a chef on a cruise ship, and he introduced me to Western-style cooking. My earliest cooking memory was at eight, when I helped my grandpa and grandma to cook on their farm in Hong Kong when I spent my summer holidays there. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? My favourite ingredients are seafood, steak and duck, simply because I love eating them. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I entered MasterChef because it's something I always watched growing up. There was no such competition in Hong Kong and when I moved here, I thought, 'why not'? I was new to the country and thought this is an exciting opportunity to start a second life and to do something I could only ever dream of doing before. I also really want to see if I'm really that passionate about food and see if there's a possibility to turn it into a new career path. I perform best under pressure, and I want to see how far I can reach on my creativity. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? What is it? My food dream is to run a B&B with a farm to table bespoke meal prepared by me. Hazel Home Maker, Aged 32 Hazel lives in London with her partner and daughter. She was born in London and grew up in Essex. How would you describe your style of cooking? My style of cooking definitely varies but I like to cook delicious, relatively healthy meals that don't scrimp on flavour. I like to rotate flavours from Mexican, Asian, Middle Eastern and Italian influence. Nutritious and healthy comforting food that fills your belly and gives you a hug is what I like to do. How did you get into cooking? From very young, as young as I would have been able to stand on a small step and reach the kitchen countertop, my mum would get me and my brother in the kitchen. She would have us baking bread, making biscuits and other treats. I've been cooking ever since. Being able to make something delicious when I'm craving something delicious is what I live for. Earliest cooking memory? My mum used to make a fish pie with a cornflake topping when I was very young and I remember that so vividly and how much I loved it! Then my dad would make a pasta bake dish every Friday. It was so simple, filled with olive oil, mozzarella and tomatoes but it came out with a crispy top and I just loved it. It was comfort and I've tried to recreate it ever since. I remember always making Christmas biscuits to hang on the tree, cutting out Christmas shapes and piercing a hole in the top with a pencil to thread the string. All the biscuits never made it to Christmas day; they got picked off the tree way before that! What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? My favourite cooking ingredient is garlic! I put four cloves of garlic in everything as a minimum and I don't know if that's just become a habit, but I do love garlic. Maybe I'm even immune to garlic now I have so much of it. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? I entered MasterChef to do something for myself, to regain something that was mine, just mine! I had just had a baby, and it was coming up to a year and honestly, I was feeling very out of sorts. I wasn't sure who I was anymore, I had completely lost my flow in the kitchen and sometimes didn't even know how or what to cook so I suppose it was me trying to regain or take back a part of myself. I have watched MasterChef for years and have been cooking for so long. I've always thought I was a decent cook and when I cook for friends and family, they always enjoy it but I want to know how good I am. I want to show my baby girl that you should go for what you desire. I'd like to think I've got a really good shot so I'm going for it. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? I hadn't a food dream before MasterChef, but now I'd like to help post-partum mums heal themselves with food. I don't know what that looks like but whether it's teaching, cooking for them or sharing how I cook nutritious, family-friendly meals as a mum, that's my first port of call. Marcella Global Development Director, Aged 39 Marcella lives in Brighton. She was born and raised in West Sussex and then moved to London. How would you describe your style of cooking? Hosting for my friends and family is what inspires my food. I love a dinner party, garden party, summer party. I love most kinds of meet ups where food brings people together. My house has become the hub of our social gatherings, and this gives me the chance to try new things or just whip together some good old classic crowd pleasers. My style is definitely hearty, wholesome, flavourful. Everything has to be delicious or it's not worth having! I'm inspired by my Persian/Mauritian roots, but I love the classics too. Mexican, Italian and Asian food all have big flavours that I like to eat and cook. My technique could do with developing but I feel my flavours hit the mark. How did you get into cooking? I've been inspired to cook by my mum and her sisters. We're a large family and food is everything. Choosing a restaurant for a family birthday includes lots of sign off! But it was actually my best friend Clare who, after living with me for a few years in my early 20s and was no doubt getting sick of my microwave jacket potatoes, taught me to cook a spaghetti bolognaise from scratch and that's what got me going. Earliest cooking memory? My earliest memory is in my parents' kitchen, me sat on the worktop, and my mum letting me help her bake something. My Mum is one of five, but it's memories of her and her sisters in the kitchen, cooking Persian meals for hours, only for me and my cousins to scoff it all up in seconds, that has made me love food. I've been working on a family recipe book to make sure that our family favourites are not lost but can be handed down the generations. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? This is a tough question - I love it all (apart from turnips!) but probably the potato is what I like cooking with best. It sounds so basic but so versatile, delicious in every form and goes with pretty much everything. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? This was a milestone year for me… I turned 40. The last decade has been a combination of dealing with grief and pushing my career forwards at an accelerated pace. This has given me lots of amazing opportunities, but I wanted to do something that was just for me, something that propelled me out of my comfort zone and perhaps sparked something in the form of a new passion from within, but most importantly just have some fun experiencing something new! Do you have a dream of working in the food world? My dream has been to produce a family cookbook, taking favourite recipes from family and friends and combining them into one book. This would be a little bit of a hot pot of cuisines and food styles but some great tasty family go-tos. I also love the idea of creating a food show, where we would focus on a certain location (Southern Italy, the French countryside or as far-fetched as Vietnam or Mexico). We'd go into a family home and learn their family recipes, food hacks and learn about the culture behind the food we eat. Food is just a great way of bringing people from all backgrounds together, and a great way to break down cultural barriers. I would also like to produce a dinner party hosting show, something that combines the creativity of hosting a dinner party with my event management skills. I'd have trendy tablescapes, a fun twist on a drink, take a concept, and make an event out of it at home. Something to impress your friends with, that's easy to do and affordable but, impactful and fun! Sam Vocational Trainer, Aged 28 Sam lives in Swindon with his boyfriend, Danny. He was born in Thailand and moved to the UK 10 years ago. How would you describe your style of cooking? My core style of cooking is authentic Thai food. However, I sometimes love to be creative with Thai fusion, taking inspiration from the countries I've visited. How did you get into cooking? Growing up in Thailand was challenging, so I had to learn how to cook from a very young age and how to be frugal and inventive with what I had. I would often help my mum and grandma in the kitchen, and my grandmother taught me the basics in Thai cuisine and my love for cooking grew from there. Since moving to the UK, I've done all the cooking myself. Social media food videos have become my best friend. Earliest cooking memory? When I was at school, as a team of three, my mum, grandma and I won the cooking competition. But my first memory was cooking rice on an open fire. I ended up with charcoal everywhere, and all over my face, but the rice was perfect! What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? This is a hard question! I love spicy food so my favourite ingredient would have to be chilli, closely followed by the perfect jasmine rice. There is nothing more comforting than rice. I grew up eating it every day and it's my go to. Chilli is the cornerstone of my cooking, however it be used - from a chilli dip with pineapple and unripe mango to the perfect pad-kra-pao (chicken basil). Why did you enter MasterChef this year? Before I moved to the UK, I had never seen the show before but now I absolutely love the show and have been hooked on it ever since I moved over here. Over the last five years, I kept saying to my boyfriend, I want to apply but never did. I've never had much confidence in my ability to cook and really wanted to push myself outside my comfort zone! Do you have a dream of working in the food world? I would love to have my own cookbook that celebrates Thailand and my style of cooking. Trevor Project Manager, Aged 50 Trevor lives in Kent with his wife Joanne. He was born in Sidcup and grew up in Chislehurst. How would you describe your style of cooking? My cooking style is diverse and versatile, as I enjoy experimenting with various cuisines and dishes. I have a passion for creating food that is not only delicious, but also artfully plated, with really impactful flavours. I love trying dishes from all over the world, from French cuisine to small-plate Spanish tapas, to Italian food and pizza, through to dishes from across Asia. As long as it tastes amazing, I'll cook it, add a twist here and there to give it my own spin. There's nothing I enjoy more than entertaining friends – sharing great food and good wine together makes me happy. How did you get into cooking? Earliest cooking memory? Cooking, for me, started when I was a child. My dad enjoyed entertaining and had a real interest in travel, so we were fortunate to visit some amazing destinations growing up. I remember going shopping with him on Saturday mornings when I was about nine or ten - picking up things like balsamic vinegar and saffron, which weren't everyday ingredients in our house in the early 1980s. We would come home, and I would loiter in the kitchen doorway, watching him cook dishes that were quite different from the usual meals we had during the week. Looking back, those moments sparked my curiosity about food and where ingredients came from. What is your favourite ingredient to cook with and why? My favourite ingredient must be the humble tomato. It's incredibly versatile and brings so much character to a dish. Whether it's the freshness of a simple tomato salad with shallots and a vinaigrette dressing, the comfort of tinned tomatoes on toast, or its essential role in global favourites like curries, pastas, and pizzas, tomatoes are the backstage hero everywhere! They can be sweet, sharp, smoky, or soothing depending on how they're prepared, and that adaptability makes them a joy to cook with. They're a staple in my kitchen and often the starting point for creativity. On a personal note, tomatoes evoke memories of my mum's Dutch spaghetti - a family favourite that's packed with flavour and nostalgia. It's one of those meals which brings everyone together, and it's where I first saw how a simple ingredient could be transformed into something truly special. Why did you enter MasterChef this year? Having faced some serious health challenges over the last year, and having just turned 50, not only is competing on MasterChef an exciting prospect, it's also an awakening of 'if not now, when'. It all began quite casually, my friend and neighbour started the application process and encouraged me to do the same. I kept hearing, 'You should go on MasterChef' and eventually thought, 'Why not?' So I completed the application (thank you Tom!), and to my surprise and delight, I was selected. It's been an incredible journey already. Do you have a dream of working in the food world? My food dream is to carve out a space as a down-to-earth writer and critic, sharing thoughtful reviews of restaurants and hotels while celebrating the stories behind the dishes and the people who create them. The idea of hosting or appearing in cookery shows also really excites me; it would be a wonderful way to combine my love of food with storytelling and connection. I love cooking at home and would enjoy sharing my own recipes with others — whether through writing or presenting. Follow for more
