Interview with Cooking With The Stars contestant Claire Richards

Why have you decided to sign up for the show?

The reason I wanted to do it was because you get a mentor who teaches you and I feel like I’ve got stuck into a bit of a rut the last few years. I cook the same things over and over again. I feel like I’ve got a good range of things I do make but I’ve got a bit lazy and haven’t challenged myself very much when it comes to food for a long time. I really do enjoy cooking and always have.

Also, I’m a baker so when I started cooking when I was a kid, all I did was bake cakes and make puddings - that was my thing. Baking is very strict, you’ve got to be really precise with everything whereas this type of cooking is all about taste and making sure you’ve got the flavours right. There is a certain room for manoeuvre whereas there isn’t with baking and I’m very much that type of cook - I do like to follow a recipe.

How would you describe your cooking abilities? How would you rate your abilities on a scale of 1 to 5?

I don’t know but I’ve been bigged up quite a bit by Tony - he’s got a lot of faith in me so I think he’d probably say I’m quite good. I’m in the middle I think - I’d say a three. I understand certain flavours but I’m certainly not an expert. I know a lot of stuff about nothing, generally!

Do you like going out for dinner? Would you consider yourself a foodie?

I’m a little bit of a creature of habit to be honest. If I find something that I like then I’ll eat it until I’m sick of it. We love going out for meals and if we go on holiday, I’m probably a bit more adventurous.

We went to Portugal last year and I’d never liked raw onions, raw peppers or sushi but I came away from that holiday having eaten all three. The way it’s marinated makes it taste amazing. Every now and again, I’ll introduce a new taste into my life.

What is your favourite cuisine?

I love a good burger and not these great thick patties but the American style with grilled onions and cheese in a nice soft bun. I do love that sort of stuff and some crunchy fries.

Do you have a bit of a guilty pleasure when it comes to food?

I love sandwiches. I’ve got two favourite sandwiches which I don’t have very often but I love an egg mayonnaise sandwich on soft white bread with loads of butter. But my favourite is two thick slices of crusty bread, loads of butter, really strong grated cheddar cheese and then plain crisps - it’s the best.

Have you ever had any cooking disasters at home?

I remember one from years ago when I was a kid. My aunty and uncle were staying at our house for the weekend and I wanted to make soda bread because I figured out I didn’t need yeast and when I was younger I couldn’t stand the smell of yeast. The recipe said bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar and I thought ‘What is cream of tartar?’ and I know what it is now and the only thing I knew was tartar sauce. I put tartar sauce in it and it was disgusting but my uncle who is American ate the whole thing - he loved it!

Have there been any funny moments or cooking disasters yet during filming?

We’ve had a couple of falls! Both of them went to do the gong and they both slipped at separate times. They were there and then all of sudden they weren’t.

Would you describe yourself as competitive?

I am competitive but I don’t like competition if that makes sense. I want to do the absolute best I can do. But because I enjoy things like this and the same with singing - I get really nervous when I’m doing something that means something. I’m a Leo and we love being told how great we are!

Who did you think could be your main competition when you met your fellow celebs for the first time?

I think me and Joanna are very similar - we’re the same age, we’re both mums and I think our cooking style is probably similar. I feel like she’s going to be good. Now everyone has done their first cook, it’ll be interesting to see how we all progress.

What has it been like working with Tony?

He’s so lovely. I’m so lucky to have got Tony. Our personalities are right together. He’s really patient. He’s a good teacher and he’s very confident in me. I would hate to think he is thinking ‘This is going to be an absolute disaster’ which I know some of the chefs have thought but I genuinely think he doesn’t think that. I’m constantly asking him questions!

Do you feel like you’re learning a lot in the process?

I did say I wanted to learn how to make a proper curry because I’m not good with chillies, heat and spice - I really struggle to understand those flavours. When I eat stuff like that, all I can taste is chilli but Tony has opened my mind to the fact that while there is chilli in there, there are all these other spices that compliments and enhances the flavour.

If you were hosting a dinner party and could invite three famous faces, who would they be?

Elvis Presley - I was born the day Elvis died. He died on 16th August 1977 and I was born at 1:30am on 17th August so in my head it was still the 16th in America with the time difference. My Mum said she woke up in the hospital after she’d had me and all the nurses were crying and it was the front page of all the newspapers the day I was born. I’ve always had this thing that we crossed somewhere across the Atlantic and bumped into each other and that was my destiny mapped out forever. Prince as well, I was gutted when he died because he was one of my big ones. And then either Ian McKellen or Richard Attenborough.

Are you in it to win it?

I don’t think anyone takes part in a competition if they don’t want to get somewhere. I’m a Leo so I would love to win but I can appreciate that other people have talent.

ENDS