She started out by sharing her recipes on Instagram and now mum-of-one Sarah Woods is aiming to impress Mary Berry with her cooking.

Sarah Woods, 42, from Wilmslow, is one of 10 contestants working hard in the kitchen on the BBC One show Best Home Cook.

The eight-part series, which is now two weeks in, follows home cooks as they're put through the paces by the doyenne of baking, Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett and veg expert Chris Bavin.

Sarah, who launched her own website and started posting recipes on Instagram after she turned 40, explained how she landed a spot on the show presented by Claudia Winkleman.

"I've always had a passion for food, there's a real community vibe in Wilmslow and I'm a massive feeder," she said.

"I started doing cooking lessons with friends, things like what to do with mince, and I started my own website and posting on Instagram. I turned 40 and I thought 'life begins at 40.'

"I just started posting recipes and promoting home cooking.

"At first I thought it was a hoax when I was asked to take part in the show and then I had to apply like everyone else."

Sarah, a pharmaceutical recruitment partner, learned to cook by helping her mother and grandmother in the kitchen and one of her earliest memories is helping to make 500 samosas for a party when she was five years old.

She says she was born with a passion for food and describes her cooking style as a hybrid of traditional Indian and British cooking with other global influences.

And Sarah loves cooking for her husband Harvey, 43, and their son Austin, 10.

"I grew up in a food obsessed family," she told us.

"We always had lots of friends and family visiting and our home was like Piccadilly Circus.

"I love to entertain and provide nourishment. My goal is to share my passion for cooking."

Each week, the cooks are faced with challenges including the eliminator challenge, where they must follow one of Angela's recipes perfectly and the judges send home the cook responsible for making their least favourite version of the dish.

"I'm absolutely over the moon to be on the show," said Sarah.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to even be in the same building with Mary Berry and Angela Hartnett. She is amazing, her, Mary and Claudia.

Sarah and her fellow contestants

"It's great to have female role models and they are the best out there and it's a huge honour and a privilege to work with them."

She added: "I've had such lovely feedback.

"I made a pear dish and it's always flattering to be told you have a nice pear.

"The British food scene is so exciting at the moment.

"I don't want to stay in the same place and I want to learn new dishes."

Best Home Cook is screened on Thursdays at 8pm.




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