63 year old Cristina is a retired tour guide. Born in London, she grew up in the Canary Islands then settled in Kingston upon Thames, to bring up her own family. She lives with her husband with her two grown up children and grandchild nearby.

How would you describe your style of cooking?

“Family cooking – I like nothing more than Sunday lunch or a BBQ with my kids and now their kids! I am also brave too – I'm always happy to try things out, even if they don’t work first time, I’ll give it another go. Food has to be fun too.”

What is your earliest cooking memory?

“I grew up in London, to a Spanish mother and an Irish father so I had lots of different influences from a young age. My mother’s Sunday lunch is one that stands out, it was unusual. Her favourite Sunday pudding was a sponge, covered in coffee flavoured butter, covered again in almond slivers. It looked like a dinosaur!”

Why did you enter MasterChef?

“I was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer in 2018 and underwent 12 gruelling rounds of chemo. As my oncologist said, it was close but not quite midnight so I am very lucky that it hasn't returned but it does crystallise in you that life is so very short and you have to GO FOR IT.”

What is your food dream?

“I would absolutely love to have a food truck serving Spanish street food, wouldn’t that be marvellous.”