Local MasterChef contestant succeeds again
West Berkshire competitor in the television series speaks of her cooking experiences as she progresses to eighth round
WEST Berkshire contestant, Annie Assheton, impressed the judges again in Wednesday night's episode of MasterChef, sealing her place in the next round of the televised competition.
Mrs Assheton, of Cock Lane, Bradfield Southend, and fellow contestant, Alice, were praised by judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace for their recent performance which saw contestants cook vegetarian dishes under the guidance of Yotam Ottolenghi, and then take their cook their meals for circus riggers and performers in Peckham, London.
The 39-year-old, who lives with her husband, Johnny, and their two children, Milly, aged seven, and Rupert, aged four, said: “One thing you could never accuse the MasterChef production team of is predictability.
“Having experienced the surprises and excitements of our trip to Scotland, closely followed by having to select ingredients while blindfolded, the eight of us left knew that all we could expect was the unexpected.
“And who could possibly have predicted that we would find ourselves cooking vegetarian food, in a tent on Peckham Rye Park, for circus riggers and performers.
“As an avid viewer of previous series, I used to be rather cynical about the bizarre situations MasterChef contestants were thrown into. I wondered what the point was of placing them in contrived circumstances in which no self-respecting professional would ever allow themselves to be found. But through this I discovered that great cooking isn't just about shiny kitchens and familiar ingredients; it's about challenging your perceptions, exploring new avenues and being versatile and confident enough to work in the most unusual surroundings.”
Mrs Assheton, who works an administrator for the Charity Fairs Association, produced a beetroot and apple soup which went down a storm with the circus crew.
“Our session with Yotam Ottolenghi surprised and delighted us all, opening our eyes to the variety, flavour and sheer yumminess that we had thought must be lacking from food without meat or fish,” she said. “Had I known that I would be cooking on a trestle table in a big round tent, for circus performers in Peckham, my beetroot dish would never have seen the light of day.
As it turned out, I'm extremely glad I put my faith in beetroot.”
To find out whether the 39-year-old makes it through to the ninth round of the competition tune into the next episode, which is scheduled to be aired on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday.
