Nadiya gets the travel bug
FORMER BRITISH BAKE OFF WINNER EXPLORES HER ROOTS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE AREA’S EXCITING FOOD... INCLUDING INSECTS
BAKE Off winner and now a firm TV chef favourite, it was only a matter of time before Nadiya Hussain ventured out of a studio kitchen.
There is good reason for this move into travel presenting though. British-born Nadiya, whose family is from Bangladesh, recently discovered that some of her ancestors were from Thailand, Cambodia and Nepal.
Now she wants to visit those countries, discovering more about the places where she now has a connection, and of course taking her love of food with her.
“It’s not a package holiday. Girls like me don’t do stuff like this. I’m travelling further on my own that I’ve ever been before,” she says, preparing to leave her husband and three children.
How do they feel about her going away? One of her little boys chirps: “Mainly sad, tearful, upset and er, just more words that mean sad.” Thank goodness it’s only two weeks.
Tonight’s episode follows her first week, in Thailand and Cambodia, where she has a natural empathy and warmth with everyone she meets. She’s a natural on screen, but we know that already.
At a Cambodian bakery school for young girls, she wins them over with a lesson in one of her favourite desserts.
In a grove of sugar palm trees, Nadiya sees a granddad skip up and down tall trees to collect the sap.
And if you thought I’m A Celebrity was bad, Nadiya is faced with a snack of crisps made from insects.
This is a charming travelogue, and my bet is it won’t be her last.