Published: 11:00 am, 27 July 2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0q1zg.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(L-R) Emily Campbell, Jason Mohammad, Shakira Khan, Joe Pasquale, Jay McGuiness (Image: BBC \/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its 21st series.<\/p>\n
The red carpet rolls into the MasterChef kitchen for a glittering line-up of celebrities from the worlds of music, drama, comedy, sport and showbiz. This 21st series warmly welcomes singers and sports stars, actors and authors, to comedians, entertainers and presenters, all with the aim of cooking their way to becoming Celebrity MasterChef 2026 Champion.<\/p>\n
Five weeks of extraordinary challenges await in a competition that will push the celebrities beyond the comfort of their showbiz jobs. Acting the part won\u2019t cut the mustard and singing for your supper will not equal success. The only thing guaranteed is that just one of them will be left standing at the end, where their sparkling career will lead them to the shiny prize – the iconic Celebrity MasterChef trophy.<\/p>\n
Meet the heat one celebrities<\/h2>\nEmily Campbell<\/h2>\nWeightlifter and Olympic Medallist<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0pssx.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019ve always been a massive fan of the show and always wanted to be on it! I love cooking and love food and really want to challenge myself in the culinary space. I\u2019m confident in the kitchen, but there\u2019s a lot I want to know. My good friend Kadeena Cox won the show, and it inspired me to give it a go – we are bonded by food! Life\u2019s too short not to challenge yourself!<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, I cook as two people, Emily the Athlete, and Emily the person. While I\u2019m training, I have to consume 3,500 calories daily to stay fuelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I find it much easier being the chef for multiple people, not just one. I\u2019m usually the chef on training camps for my athlete friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy mum and dad always shared the cooking, but Sundays were my dads Caribbean cooking day.<\/p>\n
On Sundays I would always be woken up to the smell of curried mutton, rice and peas and the mellow vibes of reggae music – I would bolt out of bed and tidy my room.<\/p>\n
I would also eat Curry Goat and rice at my grandparent’s house after dance class.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love Mexican food, but with my Caribbean heritage I like to put a spin on it!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cook for myself every day. I’ll make Salmon, rice and grilled veg, Chicken Laksa, Chicken Caesar Salad, poke bowls or Spaghetti Bolognaise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite cuisine is Japanese – sushi, teppanyaki, ramen, noodles, fried rice. I love the variation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019d go for a starter of Mushroom Bruschetta, a main of Grilled Salmon, chive mash, garlic broccoli and green beans with a lemon and tarragon sauce. For dessert I\u2019d go for a Biscoff cheesecake with cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your guilty pleasure food?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nMy comfort food is mac and cheese, growing up it was the accompaniment on the side of every plate.<\/p>\n
Jason Mohammad<\/strong><\/h2>\nTV and Radio Presenter<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0ps7w.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love food and I\u2019m passionate about feeding people. Some of my greatest memories in my life have been surrounded by food, especially after Ramadan. Tables full of food at Eid and feeding and eating with my fellow Muslims at my mosque during Eid celebrations. But also, very special Christmases and birthdays have been memorable because of the food we had. I take a lot of pride in feeding people. I love to see the joy in their faces once I have fed them. I also enjoy being fed.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, my kids say I just throw things in a pan and hope for the best. I love to experiment, the best example is my \u2018JMo\u2019s Magnificent Mackerel\u2019 which was made of leftover basmati rice, a tin of mackerel, kale, green chillies and soy sauce – topped with a fried egg!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a home cook and a dad so presentation doesn’t bother me, I just try to get it out ASAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite food memory is picking potatoes, kidney beans, tomatoes and veg in my Grandad\u2019s big garden in Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whenever my family would return from holidays, my grandmother would make Welsh new potatoes, roasted chicken, salad and lashings of salad cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI cook a mean Sunday dinner and I\u2019m the Christmas day chef. I can make a good sponge and chocolate torte because I bake with my daughter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tend to cook most nights of the week for my wife and kids, mainly chicken and rice with some soy sauce and spring onion or my banging chicken curry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite cuisine is Italian, my comfort food is pasta, it also helps fuel my boxing training.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I split my time between Cardiff and Manchester, so I tend to eat out about twice a week at a Cantonese in Cardiff and a Pakistani in Manchester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nTo impress guests, I would cook minced lamb kebabs with chili and salt, coriander chicken curry with basmati rice and then a chocolate torte with ice-cream.<\/p>\n
Jay McGuiness<\/h2>\nMusician, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0psc9.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy bandmates Tom and Max had a great time on the show, and I was so impressed watching them! I like challenges and learning new things. What\u2019s the worst that could happen?<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a vegetarian, my cooking is 100 iterations of rice or potatoes and vegetables, fried tofu or mock meats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m experimental, but I do love to add spice. My presentation is terrible but under pressure I can follow orders and rarely get in a flap.<\/p>\n
Regardless of how the cooking goes, I\u2019ll eat it! Burnt, rubbery, salty, it\u2019s going in. My loved ones have watched me eat some rotten stuff in awe and disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy mum cooked hearty food for a family of seven, the same 10 meals on rotation which I have now reverted to as an adult.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dishes that remind me of my childhood are Boil-in-the-bag fish with potatoes and peas, Mulligatawny soup, Stir fry, and of course Sunday dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My first ever \u2018vegetarian dinner\u2019 was chip shop chips aged 13. I got in the car after school and was scared to tell my mum I wanted to be a vegetarian. She asked me what I would eat (we were going to the chippy) I said chips. She cooked for four other kids with my little dinner on the side for years. Legend.<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love all hearty food; I\u2019ll eat anything!<\/p>\n
Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\nAubergine is my food hell, as a vegetarian everyone expects me to love it but I can\u2019t bear it!<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nI would go for a caprese salad with toasted bread, then Spaghetti Bolognaise or Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto, finally a cheese board and getting everyone drunk!\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong><\/p>\nA cheese toastie with tomato soup, followed by Spaghetti Bolognaise and garlic bread, then finishes with a cheese board and a pint of Guinness because I don\u2019t eat pudding.<\/p>\n
Joe Pasquale<\/h2>\nComedian, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0pry0.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love a good challenge. I don\u2019t like to be in shallow water; I love the deep end\u2026 and I love the adrenaline that goes with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I\u2019m a huge fan of the show and have watched it for many years. I really hope to learn something as I\u2019ve always fancied myself as a bit of a chef as I love to experiment but never had the confidence to pursue it.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy food tastes have really changed over the years, as I have travelled a lot and have become much more experimental. I live alone and cook for myself at least four times a week.<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy Dad was the cook in the family and was the main influence in my relationship with food.<\/p>\n
My earliest memory was the cheap food in the 60s, mainly spam as money was tight. I would sit with my three siblings at my father\u2019s feet when he came home from work to have his meals \u2013 he had proper meat and veg \u2013 so we would guilt him into sharing his dinner.<\/p>\n
My mum only cooked Christmas dinner once. She left the giblets in the plastic bag, and it all melted inside the turkey!<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nI don’t really have a favourite cuisine \u2013 I\u2019ve been on the road for 41 years as a travelling comic, so I\u2019ve tasted all sorts of food, good and bad over the years, but if I eat out it\u2019s usually Thai.<\/p>\n
Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\nSweetcorn, I love peas but not yellow peas of corn.<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nTo impress my friends I would do scallops to start, tuna steak and Thai salad for the main and the dessert would be Banoffee pie.<\/p>\n
Shakira Khan<\/h2>\nTelevision Personality<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n ![\"A](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/images\/ic\/400xn\/p0p0prjw.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019m always up for a challenge and I love cooking, but I\u2019m a simple cook. I\u2019m good but I want to go out of my comfort zone and learn \u2018sick recipes\u2019, it will be fun. I want to make my family proud and show the flavours I grew up with. I also want to prove to myself that I can improve and surprise people.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nI would love to be the chef of the family and be able to share my dad\u2019s recipes with my kids in the future. I reckon I will excel in my presentation!<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy dad is an amazing family cook. He has been tutoring me ahead of the competition, whereas my mom would burn fish fingers.<\/p>\n
I learnt about Pakistani heritage from my dad. We ended up fusing cuisines and creating dishes like Keema Spaghetti Bolognese or curried beans on toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nDesserts and baking are my specialties! On Sundays I\u2019m the queen of cakes whipping up a \u2018Manchester tart\u2019 for my siblings.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your go-to comfort meal?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, my hungover meal is shepherd\u2019s pie and gravy or my dad\u2019s Chicken Kerai so probably one of those! I also love sweet and savoury combos such as peach and honey burrata toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nMy death row meal would be Gambas pil-pil to start, a roast dinner for main and Manchester Tart for dessert.<\/p>\n
alice.lemaistre@multitudemedia.co.uk<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFollow For More<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.bbc.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 11:00 am, 27 July 2026 (L-R) Emily Campbell, Jason Mohammad, Shakira Khan, Joe Pasquale, Jay McGuiness (Image: BBC \/Shine TV) Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its 21st series. The red carpet rolls into the MasterChef kitchen for a glittering line-up of celebrities from the worlds of music, drama, comedy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2518841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2518840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Celebrity-MasterChef-2026-Meet-the-celebrities-cooking-in-week.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518842,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions\/2518842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Weightlifter and Olympic Medallist<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019ve always been a massive fan of the show and always wanted to be on it! I love cooking and love food and really want to challenge myself in the culinary space. I\u2019m confident in the kitchen, but there\u2019s a lot I want to know. My good friend Kadeena Cox won the show, and it inspired me to give it a go – we are bonded by food! Life\u2019s too short not to challenge yourself!<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, I cook as two people, Emily the Athlete, and Emily the person. While I\u2019m training, I have to consume 3,500 calories daily to stay fuelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I find it much easier being the chef for multiple people, not just one. I\u2019m usually the chef on training camps for my athlete friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy mum and dad always shared the cooking, but Sundays were my dads Caribbean cooking day.<\/p>\n
On Sundays I would always be woken up to the smell of curried mutton, rice and peas and the mellow vibes of reggae music – I would bolt out of bed and tidy my room.<\/p>\n
I would also eat Curry Goat and rice at my grandparent’s house after dance class.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love Mexican food, but with my Caribbean heritage I like to put a spin on it!\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cook for myself every day. I’ll make Salmon, rice and grilled veg, Chicken Laksa, Chicken Caesar Salad, poke bowls or Spaghetti Bolognaise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite cuisine is Japanese – sushi, teppanyaki, ramen, noodles, fried rice. I love the variation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019d go for a starter of Mushroom Bruschetta, a main of Grilled Salmon, chive mash, garlic broccoli and green beans with a lemon and tarragon sauce. For dessert I\u2019d go for a Biscoff cheesecake with cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your guilty pleasure food?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nMy comfort food is mac and cheese, growing up it was the accompaniment on the side of every plate.<\/p>\n
Jason Mohammad<\/strong><\/h2>\nTV and Radio Presenter<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love food and I\u2019m passionate about feeding people. Some of my greatest memories in my life have been surrounded by food, especially after Ramadan. Tables full of food at Eid and feeding and eating with my fellow Muslims at my mosque during Eid celebrations. But also, very special Christmases and birthdays have been memorable because of the food we had. I take a lot of pride in feeding people. I love to see the joy in their faces once I have fed them. I also enjoy being fed.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, my kids say I just throw things in a pan and hope for the best. I love to experiment, the best example is my \u2018JMo\u2019s Magnificent Mackerel\u2019 which was made of leftover basmati rice, a tin of mackerel, kale, green chillies and soy sauce – topped with a fried egg!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a home cook and a dad so presentation doesn’t bother me, I just try to get it out ASAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite food memory is picking potatoes, kidney beans, tomatoes and veg in my Grandad\u2019s big garden in Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whenever my family would return from holidays, my grandmother would make Welsh new potatoes, roasted chicken, salad and lashings of salad cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI cook a mean Sunday dinner and I\u2019m the Christmas day chef. I can make a good sponge and chocolate torte because I bake with my daughter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tend to cook most nights of the week for my wife and kids, mainly chicken and rice with some soy sauce and spring onion or my banging chicken curry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy favourite cuisine is Italian, my comfort food is pasta, it also helps fuel my boxing training.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I split my time between Cardiff and Manchester, so I tend to eat out about twice a week at a Cantonese in Cardiff and a Pakistani in Manchester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nTo impress guests, I would cook minced lamb kebabs with chili and salt, coriander chicken curry with basmati rice and then a chocolate torte with ice-cream.<\/p>\n
Jay McGuiness<\/h2>\nMusician, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy bandmates Tom and Max had a great time on the show, and I was so impressed watching them! I like challenges and learning new things. What\u2019s the worst that could happen?<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a vegetarian, my cooking is 100 iterations of rice or potatoes and vegetables, fried tofu or mock meats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m experimental, but I do love to add spice. My presentation is terrible but under pressure I can follow orders and rarely get in a flap.<\/p>\n
Regardless of how the cooking goes, I\u2019ll eat it! Burnt, rubbery, salty, it\u2019s going in. My loved ones have watched me eat some rotten stuff in awe and disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy mum cooked hearty food for a family of seven, the same 10 meals on rotation which I have now reverted to as an adult.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dishes that remind me of my childhood are Boil-in-the-bag fish with potatoes and peas, Mulligatawny soup, Stir fry, and of course Sunday dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My first ever \u2018vegetarian dinner\u2019 was chip shop chips aged 13. I got in the car after school and was scared to tell my mum I wanted to be a vegetarian. She asked me what I would eat (we were going to the chippy) I said chips. She cooked for four other kids with my little dinner on the side for years. Legend.<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love all hearty food; I\u2019ll eat anything!<\/p>\n
Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\nAubergine is my food hell, as a vegetarian everyone expects me to love it but I can\u2019t bear it!<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nI would go for a caprese salad with toasted bread, then Spaghetti Bolognaise or Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto, finally a cheese board and getting everyone drunk!\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong><\/p>\nA cheese toastie with tomato soup, followed by Spaghetti Bolognaise and garlic bread, then finishes with a cheese board and a pint of Guinness because I don\u2019t eat pudding.<\/p>\n
Joe Pasquale<\/h2>\nComedian, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI love a good challenge. I don\u2019t like to be in shallow water; I love the deep end\u2026 and I love the adrenaline that goes with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I\u2019m a huge fan of the show and have watched it for many years. I really hope to learn something as I\u2019ve always fancied myself as a bit of a chef as I love to experiment but never had the confidence to pursue it.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy food tastes have really changed over the years, as I have travelled a lot and have become much more experimental. I live alone and cook for myself at least four times a week.<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy Dad was the cook in the family and was the main influence in my relationship with food.<\/p>\n
My earliest memory was the cheap food in the 60s, mainly spam as money was tight. I would sit with my three siblings at my father\u2019s feet when he came home from work to have his meals \u2013 he had proper meat and veg \u2013 so we would guilt him into sharing his dinner.<\/p>\n
My mum only cooked Christmas dinner once. She left the giblets in the plastic bag, and it all melted inside the turkey!<\/p>\n
What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\nI don’t really have a favourite cuisine \u2013 I\u2019ve been on the road for 41 years as a travelling comic, so I\u2019ve tasted all sorts of food, good and bad over the years, but if I eat out it\u2019s usually Thai.<\/p>\n
Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\nSweetcorn, I love peas but not yellow peas of corn.<\/p>\n
What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\nTo impress my friends I would do scallops to start, tuna steak and Thai salad for the main and the dessert would be Banoffee pie.<\/p>\n
Shakira Khan<\/h2>\nTelevision Personality<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n <\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
\nWhat made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019m always up for a challenge and I love cooking, but I\u2019m a simple cook. I\u2019m good but I want to go out of my comfort zone and learn \u2018sick recipes\u2019, it will be fun. I want to make my family proud and show the flavours I grew up with. I also want to prove to myself that I can improve and surprise people.<\/p>\n
How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\nI would love to be the chef of the family and be able to share my dad\u2019s recipes with my kids in the future. I reckon I will excel in my presentation!<\/p>\n
When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\nMy dad is an amazing family cook. He has been tutoring me ahead of the competition, whereas my mom would burn fish fingers.<\/p>\n
I learnt about Pakistani heritage from my dad. We ended up fusing cuisines and creating dishes like Keema Spaghetti Bolognese or curried beans on toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\nDesserts and baking are my specialties! On Sundays I\u2019m the queen of cakes whipping up a \u2018Manchester tart\u2019 for my siblings.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your go-to comfort meal?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nWell, my hungover meal is shepherd\u2019s pie and gravy or my dad\u2019s Chicken Kerai so probably one of those! I also love sweet and savoury combos such as peach and honey burrata toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\nMy death row meal would be Gambas pil-pil to start, a roast dinner for main and Manchester Tart for dessert.<\/p>\n
alice.lemaistre@multitudemedia.co.uk<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFollow For More<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.bbc.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 11:00 am, 27 July 2026 (L-R) Emily Campbell, Jason Mohammad, Shakira Khan, Joe Pasquale, Jay McGuiness (Image: BBC \/Shine TV) Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its 21st series. The red carpet rolls into the MasterChef kitchen for a glittering line-up of celebrities from the worlds of music, drama, comedy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2518841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2518840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Celebrity-MasterChef-2026-Meet-the-celebrities-cooking-in-week.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518842,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions\/2518842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p><\/div>\n
(Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n
What made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve always been a massive fan of the show and always wanted to be on it! I love cooking and love food and really want to challenge myself in the culinary space. I\u2019m confident in the kitchen, but there\u2019s a lot I want to know. My good friend Kadeena Cox won the show, and it inspired me to give it a go – we are bonded by food! Life\u2019s too short not to challenge yourself!<\/p>\n How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I cook as two people, Emily the Athlete, and Emily the person. While I\u2019m training, I have to consume 3,500 calories daily to stay fuelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n I find it much easier being the chef for multiple people, not just one. I\u2019m usually the chef on training camps for my athlete friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\n My mum and dad always shared the cooking, but Sundays were my dads Caribbean cooking day.<\/p>\n On Sundays I would always be woken up to the smell of curried mutton, rice and peas and the mellow vibes of reggae music – I would bolt out of bed and tidy my room.<\/p>\n I would also eat Curry Goat and rice at my grandparent’s house after dance class.\u00a0<\/p>\n What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love Mexican food, but with my Caribbean heritage I like to put a spin on it!\u00a0<\/p>\n I cook for myself every day. I’ll make Salmon, rice and grilled veg, Chicken Laksa, Chicken Caesar Salad, poke bowls or Spaghetti Bolognaise.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\n My favourite cuisine is Japanese – sushi, teppanyaki, ramen, noodles, fried rice. I love the variation.\u00a0<\/p>\n What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019d go for a starter of Mushroom Bruschetta, a main of Grilled Salmon, chive mash, garlic broccoli and green beans with a lemon and tarragon sauce. For dessert I\u2019d go for a Biscoff cheesecake with cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s your guilty pleasure food?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n My comfort food is mac and cheese, growing up it was the accompaniment on the side of every plate.<\/p>\n (Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n What made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love food and I\u2019m passionate about feeding people. Some of my greatest memories in my life have been surrounded by food, especially after Ramadan. Tables full of food at Eid and feeding and eating with my fellow Muslims at my mosque during Eid celebrations. But also, very special Christmases and birthdays have been memorable because of the food we had. I take a lot of pride in feeding people. I love to see the joy in their faces once I have fed them. I also enjoy being fed.<\/p>\n How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, my kids say I just throw things in a pan and hope for the best. I love to experiment, the best example is my \u2018JMo\u2019s Magnificent Mackerel\u2019 which was made of leftover basmati rice, a tin of mackerel, kale, green chillies and soy sauce – topped with a fried egg!<\/p>\n I\u2019m a home cook and a dad so presentation doesn’t bother me, I just try to get it out ASAP.\u00a0<\/p>\n When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\n My favourite food memory is picking potatoes, kidney beans, tomatoes and veg in my Grandad\u2019s big garden in Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whenever my family would return from holidays, my grandmother would make Welsh new potatoes, roasted chicken, salad and lashings of salad cream.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\n I cook a mean Sunday dinner and I\u2019m the Christmas day chef. I can make a good sponge and chocolate torte because I bake with my daughter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n I tend to cook most nights of the week for my wife and kids, mainly chicken and rice with some soy sauce and spring onion or my banging chicken curry.\u00a0<\/p>\n What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\n My favourite cuisine is Italian, my comfort food is pasta, it also helps fuel my boxing training.\u00a0<\/p>\n I split my time between Cardiff and Manchester, so I tend to eat out about twice a week at a Cantonese in Cardiff and a Pakistani in Manchester.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n To impress guests, I would cook minced lamb kebabs with chili and salt, coriander chicken curry with basmati rice and then a chocolate torte with ice-cream.<\/p>\n (Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n What made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\n My bandmates Tom and Max had a great time on the show, and I was so impressed watching them! I like challenges and learning new things. What\u2019s the worst that could happen?<\/p>\n How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\n As a vegetarian, my cooking is 100 iterations of rice or potatoes and vegetables, fried tofu or mock meats.\u00a0<\/p>\n I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m experimental, but I do love to add spice. My presentation is terrible but under pressure I can follow orders and rarely get in a flap.<\/p>\n Regardless of how the cooking goes, I\u2019ll eat it! Burnt, rubbery, salty, it\u2019s going in. My loved ones have watched me eat some rotten stuff in awe and disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\n My mum cooked hearty food for a family of seven, the same 10 meals on rotation which I have now reverted to as an adult.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dishes that remind me of my childhood are Boil-in-the-bag fish with potatoes and peas, Mulligatawny soup, Stir fry, and of course Sunday dinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n My first ever \u2018vegetarian dinner\u2019 was chip shop chips aged 13. I got in the car after school and was scared to tell my mum I wanted to be a vegetarian. She asked me what I would eat (we were going to the chippy) I said chips. She cooked for four other kids with my little dinner on the side for years. Legend.<\/p>\n What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love all hearty food; I\u2019ll eat anything!<\/p>\n Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\n Aubergine is my food hell, as a vegetarian everyone expects me to love it but I can\u2019t bear it!<\/p>\n What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n I would go for a caprese salad with toasted bread, then Spaghetti Bolognaise or Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto, finally a cheese board and getting everyone drunk!\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong><\/p>\n A cheese toastie with tomato soup, followed by Spaghetti Bolognaise and garlic bread, then finishes with a cheese board and a pint of Guinness because I don\u2019t eat pudding.<\/p>\n (Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n What made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\n I love a good challenge. I don\u2019t like to be in shallow water; I love the deep end\u2026 and I love the adrenaline that goes with pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. I\u2019m a huge fan of the show and have watched it for many years. I really hope to learn something as I\u2019ve always fancied myself as a bit of a chef as I love to experiment but never had the confidence to pursue it.<\/p>\n How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\n My food tastes have really changed over the years, as I have travelled a lot and have become much more experimental. I live alone and cook for myself at least four times a week.<\/p>\n When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\n My Dad was the cook in the family and was the main influence in my relationship with food.<\/p>\n My earliest memory was the cheap food in the 60s, mainly spam as money was tight. I would sit with my three siblings at my father\u2019s feet when he came home from work to have his meals \u2013 he had proper meat and veg \u2013 so we would guilt him into sharing his dinner.<\/p>\n My mum only cooked Christmas dinner once. She left the giblets in the plastic bag, and it all melted inside the turkey!<\/p>\n What are your go-to dishes\/foods?<\/strong><\/p>\n I don’t really have a favourite cuisine \u2013 I\u2019ve been on the road for 41 years as a travelling comic, so I\u2019ve tasted all sorts of food, good and bad over the years, but if I eat out it\u2019s usually Thai.<\/p>\n Anything you avoid?<\/strong><\/p>\n Sweetcorn, I love peas but not yellow peas of corn.<\/p>\n What are you cooking to impress your friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n To impress my friends I would do scallops to start, tuna steak and Thai salad for the main and the dessert would be Banoffee pie.<\/p>\n (Image: BBC\/Shine TV)<\/p>\n What made you want to take part in Celebrity MasterChef?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m always up for a challenge and I love cooking, but I\u2019m a simple cook. I\u2019m good but I want to go out of my comfort zone and learn \u2018sick recipes\u2019, it will be fun. I want to make my family proud and show the flavours I grew up with. I also want to prove to myself that I can improve and surprise people.<\/p>\n How would you describe your cooking style?<\/strong><\/p>\n I would love to be the chef of the family and be able to share my dad\u2019s recipes with my kids in the future. I reckon I will excel in my presentation!<\/p>\n When did you begin cooking? Any early cooking memories?<\/strong><\/p>\n My dad is an amazing family cook. He has been tutoring me ahead of the competition, whereas my mom would burn fish fingers.<\/p>\n I learnt about Pakistani heritage from my dad. We ended up fusing cuisines and creating dishes like Keema Spaghetti Bolognese or curried beans on toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n What are your favourite things to cook?<\/strong><\/p>\n Desserts and baking are my specialties! On Sundays I\u2019m the queen of cakes whipping up a \u2018Manchester tart\u2019 for my siblings.<\/p>\n What\u2019s your go-to comfort meal?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, my hungover meal is shepherd\u2019s pie and gravy or my dad\u2019s Chicken Kerai so probably one of those! I also love sweet and savoury combos such as peach and honey burrata toast.\u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s your death-row meal?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n My death row meal would be Gambas pil-pil to start, a roast dinner for main and Manchester Tart for dessert.<\/p>\n alice.lemaistre@multitudemedia.co.uk<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.bbc.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Published: 11:00 am, 27 July 2026 (L-R) Emily Campbell, Jason Mohammad, Shakira Khan, Joe Pasquale, Jay McGuiness (Image: BBC \/Shine TV) Celebrity MasterChef returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its 21st series. The red carpet rolls into the MasterChef kitchen for a glittering line-up of celebrities from the worlds of music, drama, comedy, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2518841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2518840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Celebrity-MasterChef-2026-Meet-the-celebrities-cooking-in-week.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518842,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518840\/revisions\/2518842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Jason Mohammad<\/strong><\/h2>\n
TV and Radio Presenter<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/div>\nJay McGuiness<\/h2>\n
Musician, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/div>\nJoe Pasquale<\/h2>\n
Comedian, actor and author<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/div>\nShakira Khan<\/h2>\n
Television Personality<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p><\/div>\nFollow For More<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n