Former advertising director Shauna Kelly is through to the knock-out rounds of TV MasterChef contest.
Shauna, 46, a member of the Hampstead Mums Facebook group, has impressed the judges with her cooking which has been described by John Torode and Geoff Wallace as: “very very impressive” and “divine”.
She has been hailed as “one to watch” and “head and shoulders above the rest.”
Viewers, including many of her Hampstead Mums supporters, have followed the Irish-born mother of one, from Temple Fortune, make it through the heats to the quarter finals where she has cooked for the likes of food critic Jay Rayner
During the quarter final she cooked an aubergine curry which was praised by judges.
Shauna told the Ham&High: “I am overwhelmed by the judges & past finalists/winners comments. Being called a ‘near perfect 10’, ‘class’ and ‘cooking better than some chefs out there’ are etched in my memory forever!.”
Despite what the judges called a “wobble” in the first knock-out round with the eggs in her cooked Irish breakfast, Shauna is now through to the next round. She will cook in the second group on Thursday at 8pm where she will be one of 12 remaining contestants who are split into two groups to get their first taste of professional cooking when they have to run an entire lunchtime service on their own.
The groups will cook at two top restaurants one at Ormer Mayfair, headed up by award-winning chef Shaun Rankin and the other at Roux at Parliament Square, Shauna won her place after undergoing an intense two-month selection process.
The Irish-born mum said she had a love of cooking from a young age inspired by her mother and rekindled this passion when she became a mum herself to son Jack, now five.
She was encouraged to apply last July by her partner, fashion and portrait photographer Darryl Vides Kennedy, and got through to the auditions.
Around 25,000 hopefuls apply for MasterChef each year with only around 400 getting to the audition stage with only 64 of these making it onto TV.
Since taking part in the show, which was prerecorded last year, Shauna has been inspired to start a catering business, ‘HOMEmade Hampstead, which launched last month.
Watch Shauna compete on BBC One on Thursday at 8pm.
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