A HR and project manager from the region is set to appear on the biggest cooking competition on TV during its return after a winter break.
Olayemi, 51, from Harrogate, originally grew up in Nigeria in multiple cities including Lagos, but has spent nine years in the North Yorkshire town.
She is set to make her mark on the popular cooking show airing on BBC One with her traditional Nigerian cuisine, which she is hoping to “champion.”
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However, Olayemi said her journey “from Nigeria to the West Indies 1995, then to the UK in 1997 has influenced” her cooking in “so many ways.”
Speaking of coming onto the show Olayemi said: “My boys are now grown up and moved out, so it’s time for new challenges in my life, and MasterChef is one of them.”
MasterChef on BBC One is currently airing series 18 and over the space of seven weeks, judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace will be aiming to find the UK’s best amateur cook.
Forty-five people will start the competition from all walks of life including an NHS worker, theatre director, beer bike tour guide, childcare worker, bank manager, and a retired head teacher.
This year the judges are mixing things up by introducing a whole new set of challenges to start the competition.
Each week for five weeks, nine home cooks arrive with their ingredients, making their MasterChef debut in new audition rounds.
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The contestants must deliver their standout signature dish showing John and Gregg their abilities as a cook.
The judges don’t witness the action in the MasterChef kitchen, but are served each dish in the new Tasting Room.
John and Gregg pick their three favourite dishes, giving those cooks a well-earned MasterChef apron and immunity from cooking in the next round.
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You can watch the action tonight when Olayemi will be making her debut at 8pm on BBC One.
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