Nikka is a 27 year old neonatal nurse. She was born and grew up in the Philippines she now lives in London with her husband.

How would you describe your style of cooking?

I love to cook different types of food but I always come back to my Filipino roots. My dishes tend to be a mixture of the traditional dishes I grew up eating with my own twist inspired by travels and living in the UK.

What is your earliest cooking memory?

I spent a lot of time observing my mum, Abuela and aunts in the kitchen back home and I was always fascinated by what they would cook and the way they’d put so much love into their cooking no matter how tired they were. I would often help roll out the spring rolls and loved seeing everyone gather round to eat them.

Why did you enter MasterChef?

I think Filipino food is largely underrepresented in the UK and I want to show how delicious it can be.

What is your food dream?

I have a cook book I have been working on for a while now from my own developments in the kitchen. To be able to finish this and publish it would be a dream come true. I love helping people in my role as a nurse and I love making people happy with food – continuing to do both these things in the future is what I hope for.