Life & Style

Irish women's soda bread, homemade black pudding and full Irish breakfast creations impress Masterchef's TV judges

TWO Irish women living in London are impressing the judges on this year's Masterchef series.

Sligo's Shauna Kelly and Dubliner Alison O'Reilly have been tickling tastebuds with their culinary creations on series 13 of the foodie TV favourite.

The pair are now in the final 12 of the competition, thanks to some Irish-inspired recipes.

Originally from Dublin, Alison works in marketing but started cooking from a young age.

Encouraged by her publican dad as well as her aunt and uncle who owned restaurants, when she was six she received the Usborne First Cookbook and cooked every recipe in the book, cover to cover.

The 30-year-old cites Massimo Bottura and Yottam Ottolenghi as her favourite chefs.

Alison's crab dish went down a treat with the judges (Picture: BBC)

As part of the series' challenges to date the Irish pair were asked to create a dish inspired by a family favourite or food from their childhood for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace.

Alison prepared a mouth-watering crab dish with marie rose sauce, crab cakes served with soda bread and black pudding cracker, with pickled seaweed and a cucumber and pea gazpacho.

"Love it," said judge John Torode. "Goes from very classic into something a bit more sophisticated.

Gregg Wallace added: "Love your soda bread wafer. You've a very good eye and a great palette."

Afterwards Alison joked about her unique take on a crab sandwich inspired by beach holidays with her family.

"I think my family would think I' m a little bit mad for turning that into whatever it was," she said.

Shauna Kelly cooked her version of a traditional Irish breakfast (Picture: Shine TV)

Not to be outdone, Shauna Kelly also drew on her Irish roots for her dish.

The former physiotherapist has been cooking for over 25 years since university and says Keith Floyd is her 'ultimate culinary hero.

The Sligo native is also a former volunteer with Hackney Soup Kitchen where she worked her magic on the food being served by bringing her own herbs and spices from home.

Shauna's Irish breakfast drew plenty of praise but the judges said there was room for improvement (Picture: BBC)

Her challenge dish was inspired by a full Irish breakfast.

It included whiskey, tea and maple syrup-infused bacon, sweet potato rosti, a baked duck egg with morel mushroom and creme fraiche, cannellini beans roasted with lemon and garlic, homemade black pudding with apple, stout and walnut bread with seaweed butter - all topped off with a shot of stout.

Judge John Torode said: "On this plate there are little gems, the fact you made your own black pudding is extraordinary and it's wonderful."

But, he wasn't impressed that the Irish woman had undercooked her egg.

"I love that bread, the bread is light and naturally sweet, phenomenal," added Greg Wallace.

"But it looks a mess and too many things are wrong, you're much much better than this."

Masterchef judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace (Picture: Shine TV)

The Irish pair now join 10 others this week as the finals continue.

The remaining 12 contestants are being split into two groups to get their first taste of professional cooking at Ormer Mayfair, the London restaurant owned by award-winning chef Shaun Rankin.