Charlie was born and raised in Coventry and applied to the show for "a bit of excitement"
BBC Three has launched the debut series of Young MasterChef. The spin-off of the wildly popular BBC One show will see the best up-and-coming food talent in the UK aged between 18 and 25 compete to be crowned the inaugural winner.
The ten-part series, which first aired on January 2, follows the same core format as MasterChef with a few zesty twists to freshen it up for a younger audience. Among the hopefuls is Coventry's Charlie, a DJ and economics and management student who grew up in and still lives in the area with her mum, dad, two younger brothers and a cat called Peanut.
Speaking to the BBC before the series started, Charlie revealed being the household's resident chef has helped prepare for Young MasterChef: "I cook almost every day and have done since I was about 14. Since this age I have been the resident chef in my household - until I moved to uni in Bristol - seeing as my parents both worked full-time, but I have never seen it as a chore.
"I remember following a recipe from Jamie Oliver, it was his jerk chicken. It was the first time I'd used a blender that my nan had bought me for Christmas to blend oil and spices together. I remember tasting the result and being blown away that I could make something that delicious."
Charlie spent most of his childhood and early adult life living with undiagnosed ADHD and said: "Having so much shame about my impulses led me to second guess myself throughout my life as I had a general sense that there was something wrong with me."
However being in the kitchen is different and allows Charlie to follow a flair for creativity: "With cooking I feel like it plays to my strengths. When I cook at home it is one of the only times where I truly feel that I can follow my instincts.
"I love that there are no rules and restrictions. The fast pace of the kitchen keeps up with the fast pace of my mind, and as I find it so engaging I can block out the external stimuli and hyper-focus on creating the best possible dish that I can."
Describing the MasterChef kitchen experience as "overwhelming", Charlie initially wanted to apply for senior MasterChef "for a bit of excitement", but then saw a new series was advertising: "I've always wanted to apply for MasterChef, and when I saw Young MasterChef being advertised while scrolling on Instagram procrastinating about uni work, I thought 'why not now?'. I never actually expected to hear back."
Charlie admits to not being the most confident person, but cooking provides a "boost" and is something the Coventry star would love to be able to experience full-time. She said: "I love being able to recreate that dining experience at home and make people feel special and evoke happiness through food.
"In a dream world, I’d maybe have a bakery/café by day which would turn into a cosy bar with tunes and nice dishes and cocktails by night, so I could do this full time."
Young MasterChef started on BBC Three, January 2.
Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2023 5:33 pm