From Carronshore to the MasterChef kitchen

The Carronshore woman beat off competition from thousands of applicants to win a place on the TV programme which has become cult viewing for foodies.

Now in its 14th series, the BBC show has launched a several successful careers with previous winners and contestants now running their own restaurants.

Michele took part in the seventh heat which was shown last night – and said it was an “amazing experience”.

Having learned her skills from her mother growing up across the Atlantic in Portland, Oregon, and later when the family lived in Italy, she was keen to impress judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

However, she admitted that having to come up with a dish from the ingredients in the MasterChef pantry and then cook it in an hour and ten minutes was quite daunting.

Michele (52) said: “Our ingredients included chicken thighs, chorizo, crab, sea trout and prawns and I produced an Italian chicken marsala which I was quite pleased with.”

Although the judges made complimentary comments about her dish, sadly it wasn’t enough to take her through to the next stage.

But Michele, who had already gone through a vetting process and cooking audition where she produced her savoury blueberry cheese tart, wouldn’t have missed the experience for the world.

She added: “I’m so glad that I did it. The whole process was really enjoyable, mainly because of the fabulous people involved and I’ve made some really good friends from taking part.

“It’s something that I always wanted to do and I’m glad that I did.”

When she’s not cooking for husband Harry in their Carronshore home, or at work with Dovetail Games in Stirling, Michele likes nothing better than to follow her other pastime, curling.

She is an enthusiastic curler and umpire, playing for Abercorn, Linlithgow and Buchlyvie.