A COOK from Oxfordshire with a love for spice and vegetarian food will be taking on the heat of the MasterChef kitchen.
The journey to find the UK’s best amateur cook is starting has started. Over seven-week competition MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace will be taking on one plate at a time to find the winner.
It is the fifth and final week of Heats and this year the judges are mixing it up – introducing a whole new set of challenges that the passionate amateurs must complete to progress in the competition.
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Nine home cooks will arrive with their ingredients ready for their first test, the Audition Round.
One of those home cooks will be Zizi, a 56-year-old IT Business Analyst who lives in Eynsham with her dog called Woody.
The cook grew up in Derbyshire but says her style champions her Mauritian roots and her vegetarian diet. She said: “I love using spice and try to pack as much flavour as I can into hearty dishes.”
The talented home cook decided to show off her culinary skills because she enjoys bringing people together with food.
She said: “I love the social side of cooking - bringing people together with food, sharing stories and talking about the dishes. I’m a feeder!”
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She added: “To enter a competition where it’s all centred about food and people is incredible and I feel so proud to have this opportunity.”
This year judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace will not witness them cook in the MasterChef kitchen. Instead, they taste each dish in the new Tasting Room. Just like diners in a restaurant, they judge each contestant’s food solely on the plate that is put in front of them. The judges will then pick their three favourite dishes, giving those cooks a well-earned MasterChef apron and immunity from cooking in the next round.
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However, for the remaining six contestants the competition will not be over. They will all get another chance to impress the judges and win themselves that coveted apron. Pulling out all the stops for another of their Signature Dishes, the hopefuls must then cook a sweet dish if they delivered a savoury dish in the first round and vice versa. This time, John Torode and Gregg Wallace will be in the kitchen witnessing their every move.
The stakes will be high as at the end, as only four cooks can join the three already fast-tracked in the next round of challenges. For two - their MasterChef dream is over.
MasterChef will be on TV tonight (April 19) at 8pm on BBC One.
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