Tropical flavours secure Inverness woman entry into next round of MasterChef

Coconut panna cotta may not seem like the most Highland of dishes.

But the culinary creation bowled over MasterChef judges for Invernessian Sarah McQueen Rankin on the hit cookery show on Tuesday night.

After being criticised for her undercooked venison by Gregg Wallace she went into the final cook-off for the second week of heats.

And the dessert proved a hit - securing her a coveted MasterChef apron and a progression to the next round.

Born and raised in Inverness, Sarah joined eight other home cooks for the new audition rounds in a bid to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace in their new tasting room this week.

Sarah (47) a marketing consultant, who now lives in Kinross with her husband and two children, said: “I have wanted to do MasterChef for years, but I have an absolute fear of failure so that’s always held me back.

“There comes a point where you have to take a risk, so I bit the bullet and applied.

“I love using Scottish ingredients and delivering food that has a big punch of flavour.

“Both my mother and grandmother are great cooks.

“My mum was the one who taught me how to cook initially and 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.”

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