A Turriff mum hopes to take her culinary skills to the next level and become MasterChef 2024 champion.
Muir, 53, will showcase her ‘electric’ cooking style on the BBC show, which returns for its 20th series tonight.
Muir, who was born in Turriff and grew up in Banff and Perth, is one of six hopefuls hoping to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace in the first heat.
Masterchef 2024 contestant Muir reveals cooking inspiration
In an interview with the BBC, Muir said it was her aunt Una’s home cooking that inspired her to explore her skills in the kitchen.
She said: “My cooking style is eclectic. I love cooking for a crowd, developing a theme and adding different dishes.
“Yotam Ottolenghi has been my favourite chef for many years, but I am getting more and more interested in different cooking techniques like sous vide or making culinary foams and gels.
“I enjoy cooking with friends and experimenting with different flavours and styles.”
“I helped mum out with cooking and we baked a lot when I was growing up.
“I started to get interested in cooking when I left home at 18 and my aunt Una taught me how to make lentil soup and leek and tattie soup.”
Muir says MasterChef encourages people to be ‘more adventurous with cooking’
The Children’s Mental Health Services manager, who lives in Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire with her 13-year-old daughter and dog Millie, said being on the show has been a dream come true for her.
She added: “I have always fancied entering MasterChef just to see how I get on. It’s the ultimate cookery competition, so I wanted to check it out.”
“I think MasterChef really encourages people to be more adventurous with their cooking and also brings a whole new language to our kitchens.
“Anything seems possible at home now.”
Muir hopes to one day be able to open a supper club in her local community and own a restaurant, to provide jobs to young people struggling to find work.
You can watch MasterChef on BBC One or BBC iPlayer at 6:30pm.
Conversation