A BASINGSTOKE woman has taken home the crown in the grand finale of new cooking competition Hungry For It.

The show, hosted by Stacey Dooley, which debuted on BBC Three in early June, saw ten rookie cooks set off on the ultimate crash course for how to make it in the food business. 

Mentored by TV cook, Big Zuu and Chef Kay Kay, a personal chef to stars like Drake, P Diddy, Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber, the cooks from across the UK had a chance to skill up and put their talent to the test, with the chance to win a culinary trip of a lifetime, working restaurants around the world.

After eight weeks of grueling challenges, this week the three remaining cooks entered the Hungry For It hub as finalists.

They were Joe Twyford, 24, from Bristol, Serena Appleby, 28, from Accrington, and 24-year-old Amelia Ng from Basingstoke.

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Amelia, whose grandparents are from Hong Kong, went through the process with a determination to add a twist to her dishes inspired by her Asian heritage.

For the final Level Up challenge, the cooks were asked to reinvent their favourite childhood foods and each deliver two plates.

After this round, Joe was knocked out

The final Service Challenge then saw the last two cooks enter Kayla’s world of private cheffing as they are tasked to create rival four-course menus for a celebrity client: actor, comedian and musician Michael Dapaah and 20 famous friends, including top rapper AJ Tracey, DJ and radio presenter Snoochie Shy and WBO cruiserweight boxing champion Lawrence Okolie.

Over the course of the final day the kitchens saw drama, tears and triumph for the top two cooks, leaving Kayla and Zuu with their toughest decision of the entire process. 

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However, on Tuesday (July 26)  the mentors finally crowned Amelia from Basingstoke as the winner.

Big Zuu said: “Amelia, no words could describe the energy you have. Seeing you in the kitchen, you’re focussed, you get the work done. Your menu was well composed, your main was incredible.”

Reacting to the news, Amelia said: “This has been a crazy journey for me. Thank you to my mentors and everyone here. 

“It means a lot. Now I get to go globe-trotting!”

You can catch up on Hungry For It at: bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0c7228n.

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