Interview with Cooking With The Stars contestant Joanna Page

Why have you decided to sign up for the show?

I decided to sign up for this because I’m not a good cook, I have to cook and I’m a very practical cook but I don’t put much thought into it, I put love into it because I’m cooking for my family but I don’t enjoy it. It's absolutely exhausting cooking for four kids and my husband. Mostly I do dried pasta and open a jar. The thought of doing this and learning from a proper real life chef, that is so alien to me so I’m not even scared about it. It’s an experience that I would never normally have, it’s only because of my job that I get to do this, it’s the most amazing and priceless experience.

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

One. I came into this and thought it would be really relaxed, it’s not going to be a lot of pressure and I’ll come out of this having learnt a few basic skills. It’s utterly terrifying! I’m with Michael and he’s a Michelin-starred chef - he’s off the scale, he's amazing, his taste, his depth of flavour, he’s just wonderful. He’s introduced me to a passion for cooking and food that I never knew existed. Since working with him now, in my day-to-day life when I’m making an omelette I’m sprinkling parsley on it or adding a bit of parmesan, seasoning everything.

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

I would say I am a foodie. I do like going out for nice meals but I don’t get to a lot now because we’ve got four children so we basically have no social life - we’re in bed by half seven. I’m definitely a foodie in that I love my food, I love trying out all sorts of different things but I don’t ever take that back to try out myself. But if someone is quite happy to feed me then I will sit there and try everything but I will not return the favour!

What is your favourite cuisine?

I don’t know. I don’t have anything specific. I like everything but I do really love seafood - I adore scallops.

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

I really like that chicken and mushroom pasta in a packet and they do cheese and broccoli too. You pour it in the thing with water, milk and a knob of butter - I love it! Sometimes real pasta doesn’t cut it.

Have you ever had any cooking disasters at home?

When I first met my husband, to woo him one of the first things I made him was spaghetti bolognese but my spaghetti bolognese was plain spaghetti. I boiled it for twenty minutes, put it on the plate with no sauce and then I got a tin of tuna, opened that up and put it on, still in a circle on the top and served it to him. I’ve also made him frozen chicken kiev. It had been cooking for twenty-five minutes, I made him that with frozen chips and frozen peas and half way through it was still raw!

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

I heard a noise and shouting and then at one point Peter [Andre] was on the floor then I had a complete disaster with my ravioli and sauce. All of sudden I heard ‘Joanna, your sauce!” and I think it was Indiyah who said it. I looked up and caught Samia’s eye and I started laughing. I went back and my sauce was a bit congealed but I did bring it back. My ravioli suddenly turned into something I haven’t seen before. And then I fell off the stage when I was banging my gong. I was in such a fluster and plummeted onto the floor!

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

I think you can sort of tell who are the good cooks. Lots of people are talking with a knowledge of food which I don’t have. You can tell they use things when they’re cooking like real herbs and stuff. And some people are talking with a real passion for food which I’ve never had before. You can definitely tell Claire’s a good cook. Indiyah as well because she was talking about ginger and how she had found a new way to peel ginger - I’ve never even used ginger in anything!. But also Samia has Jean-Christophe and she talks to him in French so they’ve got a whole French thing going on.

Would you describe yourself as competitive?

Very competitive. I’m an Aries and I’m an actress so obviously I am competitive. I came into this really laid back and thought it was a really amazing experience. I know it’s not my thing, it’s not a performing thing, I’m not worried about it. I know I’m not going to win, I know I’m not a really good cook. But saying that, seeing how we’ve all changed from day one, I’m starting to get a little taste of it and I was walking around this morning with all of my notes being a really good student. So, I’m starting to get competitive and you don’t want to let your chef down. Everybody is so lovely, I wouldn’t want to beat any of them but you don’t want to let your chef down. I know I’ll be really angry if I don’t do my dishes to the best of my ability.

What has it been like working with Michael?

Amazing. He is so calm, he’s really gathered and talks us through it. Aside from that, he’s like a god - the man makes the most wonderful food. He talks about depth of flavour and when you taste his food, there is a depth of food, everything is layered. You start eating and it’s not like the same taste. Oh my goodness, I don’t know how I’m going to carry on the rest of my life without him! He’s going to be a friend for life. I want him to come and live with us and cook forever. He’s lovely.

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

Completely. I’ve already learnt things that I didn’t know before. When my cream caught and started burning a bit, I was like ‘Oh my God.’ and normally I’d put it in the bin but Michael told me to add some of my pasta water so I calmed down and started stirring and brought it back. I’ve gone from the girl who never seasoned anything to now properly seasoning. Since working with Michael, he’s now made me discover this passion for cooking and for food.

Are you in it to win it?

I’d like to say that I was but deep down I know that I don’t have the skill to get to the final. I think now instinctively I am quite good now and I’m enjoying this. I know my limit but also I’m competitive so I’m like ‘You get going as far as you can.’ I’m not going to give up, I’m just going to go as far as I can. It’s quite hard because I am competitive so I obviously want to win but I know I won’t because you’ve got cracking cooks here. But you never know!

ENDS