Britain’s Best Home Cook continues tonight on BBC One and here are the contestants taking part.
The search is on for Britain’s Best Home Cook, in this new cookery competition judged by the queen of home cooking Mary Berry, produce expert Chris Bavin, top chef Dan Doherty, and hosted with wit and warmth by Claudia Winkleman.
This is the ultimate immersive cooking competition with home at its heart, bringing 10 passionate home cooks from across the country together to live in a shared house while they compete for the crown.
Over the weeks they will face a comprehensive range of culinary challenges, from fabulous feasts to the nation’s favourite dishes, and all things in between.
Over eight episodes Mary, Chris and Dan will set challenges that will ask the cooks to demonstrate individual flair, skill, creativity and breadth in their home cooking.
The themes chosen get increasingly more challenging and technically advanced, setting the cooks apart in terms of their abilities and skills. Each week they must make an ultimate home favourite and then create an improvised dish around a single ingredient – before it boils down to the elimination round to decide who is going to leave the competition for good.
Britain’s Best Home Cook contestants
Katie
32-year-old 999 Police emergency call handler from Neath, South Wales.
Katie always cooked with her mother but fell out of love with cooking until she met her husband, Alan, which ignited her passion for home cooking. She is very proud of her Welsh heritage and her family recipes, some of which are three or four generations old. She describes herself as an “everyday home cook” who loves to cook homely recipes, stews and casseroles to feed her friends and family.
Dipa
44-year-old civil servant from Wolverhampton.
Dipa was naturally interested in cooking from an early age and by the age of 11 was making curries. Dipa says her father’s Kenyan heritage and mother’s Indian heritage is her inspiration and she loves cooking with fresh spices. She never uses a cook book and relies on her instincts, simple ingredients and straightforward methods to prepare dishes for her husband and three children.
Fiona
59-year-old retired shop keeper from County Down, Northern Ireland.
Fiona started collecting Robert Carrier Cookery magazines when she was 15 and her hobby became an obsession. She loves cooking homely, farmhouse kitchen style food for her four sons, two daughters and her husband – creating feasts that make her family happy.
Cyrus
27-year-old wine consultant and entrepreneur from York.
Cyrus started cooking properly when he was 16 and he loves creating French or Italian dishes. The process of combining ingredients and flavours to create dishes is what fascinates Cyrus and he strives to be ambitious in his home cooking.
Josie
37-year-old Wealth Client Executive at a bank and lives in Glasgow.
Josie was intrigued by her grandparents and mother cooking and once asked to peel an onion and from that moment on she was smitten with cooking. Certain recipes remind Josie of being back in the Philippines. She loves to recreate her favourite Filipino dishes and prides herself on being an instinctive cook – she never follows a recipe.
Philip
48-year-old maths teacher from Surrey.
Philip has loved food ever since he can remember. Growing up in the Seventies, traditional British cuisine is what he most loves to cook; prawn cocktail, a roast with all the trimmings and Black Forest gateau with a more modern take would be his ideal menu. Delia’s Complete Cookery Course is still his cookery book bible, as it was a huge source of inspiration while growing up.
Pippa
28-year-old oncology research biobank technician from Salford.
Pippa was taught to cook by her grandma who made really homely food. Her granddad used to take her to a dim sum restaurant with a Chinese supermarket underneath which she would peruse. It was this that drew her to cooking and her love of Asian food.
Q
38-year-old children’s A & E nurse from Balcombe in West Sussex.
Q grew up in Slovakia where food was central to family life. Food is never far from her thoughts and she cooks with her mother’s knife which she has used for years. She describes her style of home cooking as very continental with French influences using simple ingredients.
Tobi
27-year-old compliance manager from London.
Tobi started cooking with his mum and gran when he was just seven-years-old. He became the stand-in cook for his three brothers whenever his mum and dad were busy. Cooking is in his soul, he loves cooking food inspired by his British Nigerian heritage and love of all things French!
Trevor
29-year-old farmer from Kent.
Trevor’s love of cooking came from his mum, grandmother and Auntie Irene. Coming from a farming background, Trevor is inspired by, and has a heartfelt appreciation of ingredients and the time and effort that goes into producing them. He enjoys cooking with spices and loves bold flavours in his home cooking.
Britain’s Best Home Cook airs from 8PM on Thursday on BBC One.
More on: Best Home Cook
