23 November 2010
THE STAR OF THE SHOW
It sounds like a chick lit novel: a young female chef beats the boys to take home one of TV’s most coveted cooking titles. But winning MasterChef was far more than a work of fiction for Claire Lara. Words Isobel Palmer
It isn't merely being a woman that makes Claire Lara the most unlikely winner ever of BBC2's MasterChef: The Professionals. From her first appearance in the contest to find the most promising young chef in the UK, she stands out merely by not standing out - quiet, meek and modest, she is the very antithesis of the brigade of Type A personalities typical of the trade.
To then discover that she accomplished victory whilst pregnant and suffering from morning sickness, is even more impressive. “I didn't realise I was expecting,” she reveals. “David, one of the other finalists, was also feeling sick every day so I just put it down to nerves. But I think it may have helped me - it heightened my sense of smell and taste,” she says.
As the contest progresses, a dry sense of humour, steely determination and unfaltering focus emerges from the married 30-year-old. There are signs she may be good - very good: witness adoring looks from the judges Gregg Wallace and, especially, Michel Roux Jr ; and did you spot little hugs from some of the most feared names in fine cuisine? “I seemed to get hugs off everyone,” she says with a giggle.
And how about the natural charm and wit of a Scouser? Well, Claire works in Liverpool, teaching at Duke Street Community College, but she was born and brought up next door, on the Wirral, so the label isn't strictly accurate. But it certainly chimes with her ability to alleviate tense situations with a joke.
Take the moment in the final when she tells 30 of the best chefs in the world that she “never wants to see another potato scale in her life again”, after preparing a thousand to cover her fish dish. Her fellow finalists - John Calton, 29, and David Coulson, 25, can barely speak when faced with the same audience.
Is this ability to stay calm and collected her secret weapon? “I’m nervous inside but I seem to be able to keep it all together. People say I’m a very calm person. I don't really know how I managed to pull it off, though. Being able to stay focussed helps.”
Calm went out of the window when her victory was announced, however. “I grinned like a Cheshire cat,” she says. The victory was “mind-blowing”, she adds, speaking the day after the gripping final was screened. She is reeling from a wave of international support - more than 300 emails offering congratulations and countless phone calls.
But she has had plenty of time to prepare for the reaction. The third MasterChef: The Professionals contest ended in May and only her mother and a friend have since known about her success. And husband Marc, of course. He is head chef at Liverpool's lauded London Carriage Works restaurant, where Claire also worked before moving into teaching.
The pair met 10 years ago at Albert Roux's British restaurant in Paris. Claire had the opportunity to go there after she joined a YTS in food and catering. Five years later, she had picked up extensive top-notch experience - and a new husband. “He was a romantic Frenchman and he won me over with his persistence. I brought him home as a little souvenir ... and I married him. I really feel I've met the perfect guy,” she says.
Their ultimate dream is to set up a restaurant together but the baby comes first, says Claire, followed by a stint at Michel Roux's Le Gavroche along with her fellow finalists. Praise from the two-Michelin starred judge, Michel, ranks as a stand-out moment for Claire. “He said my mackerel dish was faultless, that was one of my favourite moments,” she recalls, adding that working with her hero, the godfather of modern patisserie Pierre Hermes, was another. “I couldn't believe it when he said he'd put my dessert in his shop,” she laughs.
Compliments flowed Claire's way throughout the series. From Edinburgh's Tom Kitchin it was how well she cooked, and from Rene Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen, it was her “natural presence in the kitchen.”
None of them seems to notice she is a woman, and to be frank, quite a girl-next-door type, rather than a Amazonian beauty or powerful Siren, like Monica Galleti, the New Zealand sous chef who brought a new level of aggression in this year's early rounds of the competition. Claire takes it all in her stride, saying: “She had to be like that and I really admire her, especially being a woman.”
Claire admits to finding it sometimes tough in the male-dominated industry: “I was the only girl with restaurant, nevermind the kitchen at Albert Roux's place,” she remembers, “even the waiting staff were all men.” She thinks it's a lot better these days, whilst admitting there is still prejudice against woman.
“It makes me incredibly proud to be the first woman to win but I don't see why it hasn't happened before - we are just as capable.”
And as for beating all those Type A personality boys - most of whom were considerably younger than her? Did all their boasting get on her nerves?
“Tell me about it. Quite a lot of those chefs were so cocksure about themselves - they said they were the best in the world before they had even cooked. None of them made it to the final.”
It's a rare moment of glee from Claire - and well-deserved. In five weeks of gruelling competition, she has gone from college cookery teacher to darling of some of the best kitchens in the world. As Michel Roux Jr puts it: “We were looking for a talent and have uncovered a diamond. Claire has that exceptional talent that will take her to stardom.”
You go, girl. The culinary world can't wait.