Derry’s Rachel is unveiled as Masterchef contestant

Rachel Newhouse. from Greysteel, will showcase her culinary skills on the new series of the show, which starts tonight, Wednesday March 23 at 8pm on BBC One.

Over seven weeks, MasterChef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace are ready for the journey to discovering

the UK’s best amateur cook, one plate at a time.

Forty-five passionate and talented hopefuls start the competition from all walks of life, They all have one goal in mind – to cook their way to the pinnacle of the 2022 trophy and join the outstanding MasterChef alumni who have gone on to stellar careers in food.

Rachel, who is a beer bike tour guide and lives with her fiance says she ‘loves using interesting ingredients.’

“My dad once drove 80 miles to drop off some fresh nettles from his garden for me to cook with! My nana was a baker by trade and my mum is a

fantastic cook. My fiancé’s mother was a chef in her younger years and she was definitely my main inspiration to cook.”

She entered Masterchef as a ‘personal challenge’ to test her limits and to prove to herself that she could cook.

“I never thought I would get on the show and to even have the chance to cook for John and Gregg is such an achievement, especially at my age.”

This year the judges are mixing it up – introducing a whole new set of challenges to kick off the competition. Each week for five weeks, nine home cooks arrive with both their dreams and ingredients, making their MasterChef debut in the new Audition Round. The contestants must calm their nerves to focus on the food and deliver their standout Signature Dish - showing John and Gregg who they are as a cook and how good they could become. The judges don’t witness

the action in the MasterChef kitchen, but are served 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. John and Gregg pick their three favourite dishes, giving those cooks a well-earned MasterChef apron and immunity from cooking in the next round.

The remaining six contestants will get another chance to impress the judges and win themselves that coveted apron – by cooking another of their Signature Dishes - a sweet dish if they delivered savoury in the first round and vice versa. This time, John and Gregg will be in the kitchen witnessing their every move. The pressure is set to intense and the stakes are high as for two cooks, their MasterChef dream is over.

Having made it through to the sharp end of the competition, the Semi Finalists will need to rise to some incredible challenges. They will cook for 20 returning MasterChef contestants who have gone on to have careers in the food industry since taking part in the series.

The Final Three will also get the dream chance to take on Chef’s Table challenge, at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, which celebrates 21 years of holding an incredible three Michelin stars. One of the world’s greatest chefs, Gordon Ramsay and his

formidable Head Chef, Matt Abé will put the finalists through their paces as they try to master the restaurant’s classic dishes – striving to deliver food of an exceptional standard and impress some of the best chefs in the country including members of Gordon Ramsay’s original brigade, such as Clare Smyth and Paul Ainsworth, as well as his old mentor, former three-star Michelin legend Pierre Koffman.

The search for the country’s best amateur cook reaches its climax with the MasterChef final, where the outstanding finalists must produce the best three dishes of their lives for the judges. As only one of them can lift the trophy and become the 18 th MasterChef Champion.