Bubble and squeak to win the heats: MasterChef from Inverness gets into quarter finals
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Inverness's very own MasterChef contestant went through to the next round last night (March 30) after winning over the judges with a classic British dish – bubble and squeak.
The first test Sarah McQueen Rankin and her fellow competitors faced on the latest episode was an invention test involving picking goods from a huge larder of produce.
The 47-year-old marketing consultant, who now lives in Kinross with her husband and two children, was born and raised in the Highland capital.
Speaking at the start of the programme on Wednesday night she said: “Fear of failure is a big thing for me.
“I tend not to do things I'm not really confident I can smash, but I'm so glad that I applied for this and I'm so glad I'm here.”
Her first dish was pan-fried lemon sole with white wine, creamy fish sauce and mussels.
Asked by judge Gregg Wallace if she was comfortable winging it without prior knowledge of her ingredients she replied: “You know I've got two kids at home, so very often it's open the fridge, see what's is in there.
“My kids are probably a lot kinder than you guys are going to be.”
But her dish was a hit with Gregg and fellow judge John Torode – with it earning her an immediate entry into the next round.
So with her and the other remaining contestants it was on to another brief set by food writer and restaurant critic Grace Dent – who set a task of making potatoes the “star of the show”.
In order to try and impress the panel, Sarah made a bubble and squeak cake with a crispy poached egg and chive oil.
And the brunch dish – despite not the most appealing visually according to the judges – wowed all three of the tasting panel.
Her dish earned her the second entry into the quarter finals of the competition from Gregg and John.
Sarah said: “Having a critic like your food and say that they like your food to you face is pretty special.
“So I'm blown away.”
Sarah now goes on to the next round on BBC One's MasterChef.
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