Pregnant Merseyside chef Claire Lara through to final of Masterchef: The Professionals

Oct 28 2010 by Gary Stewart, Liverpool Echo

Claire Lara on Masterchef

A MERSEYSIDE chef won through to the finals of a top TV cooking show without realising she was pregnant.

Masterchef: The Professionals finalist Claire Lara, 30, originally from Moreton, Wirral, first got her taste for cooking by making apple crumble with her nan, Melva.

But now she has worked with Michelin starred chefs including Albert and Michel Roux Jnr, and wowed big name restaurateurs on the international scene.

Claire said: “I learned so much from Michel.

“To be criticised by him every week was wonderful because his criticism is constructive.

“He doesn’t just say that’s bad, that’s good. He tells you why.

“It’s a great honour to be taught by one of the great chefs.”

Claire, from Childwall, who is a tutor at Liverpool Community College now hopes to be able open her own restaurant. But it’s a far cry from the teenager who took up a YTS scheme more than decade ago.