In 2006, marketing consultant Sarah Rankin crossed an ocean, swapping California for Kinross.
Now, Inverness-born Sarah is taking on a new journey as she appears on BBC1’s MasterChef tonight.
With the nation cooking at home and trying out new recipes more than ever before, the country’s premier amateur cooking competition, MasterChef, returns.
Over the course of seven weeks, judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace put 45 of the UK’s most talented home cooks through their paces in the ultimate test of their culinary prowess as they search for one exceptional cook, worthy of being crowned MasterChef Champion 2022.
It’s the second week of Heats and this year the judges are mixing it up – introducing a whole new set of challenges that the passionate amateurs must complete to progress in the competition.
Cooking their Signature Dish, the hopefuls must show John and Gregg who they are as a cook and how good they could become.
Wanted to do MasterChef for years
For marketing consultant Sarah Rankin, this is a welcomed challenge after falling in love with Scottish ingredients and using them to create incredible flavours.
Born and raised in Inverness, Sarah studied and lived in Edinburgh before moving to Mountain View California for six years. She moved back to Kinross in 2006 where she stays with her husband and two children, aged 15 and 11.
Speaking on her food inspiration, Sarah comments: “I love using Scottish ingredients and delivering food that has a big punch of flavour.”
“I have wanted to do MasterChef for years, but I have an absolute fear of failure so that’s always held me back.”
Family inspiration
For Sarah, the inspiration comes from the female cooks in her life who have taught her the tricks of the trade and encouraged her to appreciate the beauty in the culinary arts.
Sarah explains: “Both my mother and grandmother are great cooks. My mum was the one who taught me how to cook initially.
“My grandmother was a great baker and made the best homemade chips! I feel like they both still inspire the dishes I cook today in their own way.”
Despite her fears, Sarah has taken the opportunity to try and impress this year’s MasterChef judges with her signature dish, and make their taste buds dance.
“There comes a point where you have to take a risk, so I bit the bullet and applied,” explained Sarah.
The programme will be aired this evening on BBC1 from 9pm.