A mum from Northern Ireland has said competing on Masterchef is a "real pinch me moment".
Michelle Moles, from Dundonald, is one of the contestants in the latest series of the BBC show and this week made it through to the next round cooking for John Torode and Gregg Wallace.
The mum-of-three will go head-to-head with her fellow contestants on our screens on Thursday night, April 27,
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It was the 36-year-old's eldest daughter Leah who applied to the show for her, something she said she would not have done on her own.
"I would never have been brave enough to do it off my own back but I’m so thankful that she did it," said Michelle, who lives with husband Mark and daughters Leah, Emily and Katie.
"I’m extremely proud to be given the chance to cook for John and Gregg, things like this don’t happen to people in my little town so it’s a real pinch me moment."
Michelle, who is a special education needs assistant at Dundonald Primary School, described her style of cooking as home with an Irish twist using seasonal local produce.
"I really enjoy finding ingredients that I haven’t used before and creating new dishes and recipes," said Michelle.
"While travelling on holidays etc I will always try their local delicacies and try and eat where the locals eat because almost every time it’s the best. I enjoy the challenge of trying to recreate food from my travels and making the dishes for my family."
Her earliest cooking memory is baking with her mum every Saturday when she was four but as she got a bit older she cooked a lot with her dad, who had a similar taste in food.
"One year we didn’t get to go on holiday so every day we cooked a cuisine from where we had spent family holidays previously, exploring Spanish, Mexican, Italian and Greek food. It was such great fun and memories I will treasure forever," she said.
When it comes to her future food dreams, Michelle said she would like to do something in her local community and also likes the idea of being a food critic.
"Travelling around restaurants in Ireland and even around the world, writing up reviews would be amazing," she said.
"Being a mum of three, I’d also love the opportunity to share easy family recipes that could be cooked for children, some of mine are a bit weird and wacky but the girls love them."
You can follow Michelle's food journey on Instagram on @michellemolescooks. Masterchef is on BBC one on Thursday night, April 27, at 8pm.
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