KERRY Kane has always dreamed of appearing on hit television series Masterchef and tonight the Portstewart woman will be hoping to cook her way to success.
The 53-year-old is among the next five amateur cooks to appear on the show, aiming to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace to secure a place in the next stage of the competition and the right to wear a coveted MasterChef apron.
Speaking to the Irish News ahead of the episode, Ms Kane described how it has been a "brilliant, most amazing experience of my life".
"I feel so lucky," she said.
The mother-of-one spoke about how she has enjoyed cooking from an early age.
"My father was a professor at Coleraine University, so we travelled a lot which meant I was eating a lot of different things from an early age," she said.
"I remember trying blue cheese when I was six, so I had a wide palate from a young age.
"I also liked to experiment with food, I wanted to make it or recreate it."
A former set designer for UTV, Ms Kane also worked in the bridal industry and is well-known in local amateur dramatic circles and currently the musical theatre director for the Portrush Music Society.
She said that during the coronavirus pandemic she "realised life is too short" and she should pursue her cooking ambition and face the ultimate test of culinary prowess.
"I have been a massive fan of Masterchef for years, I've always loved it," she said.
"There was an online application, which is quite a long process and interviews as well, which due to the situation this year were done by zoom. Even to get through the application process was massive.
"When I found out I was in the final 40, to get to that stage was amazing - I was so shocked, I couldn't believe it, I walked around in a daze."
Tonight she will create her signature dish - something that tells the judges about who she is a cook and how good she can become.
While she could not reveal what she was cooking ahead of the show, she said it contains many items of produce from Northern Ireland.
"I spent about two months experimenting and developing my first signature dish," she said.
"I think it really says something about Northern Ireland - I was able to source locally and the produce in this area inspired me for the dish.
"I really enjoyed developing it and I hope I do it justice."
Masterchef is on BBC One at 8pm.
