‘I’m even more of a whizz in the kitchen!’
Sheree Murphy, 41, is back helping amateur home cooks make top nosh on series two of BBC1’S Yes Chef…
How are you feeling about being back with a second series of Yes Chef?
So excited! Hopefully people will enjoy it for a second time.
Did you have just as much fun filming it?
We had such fun, and we’ve made a couple of little tweaks. Now we’ve got three home cooks per episode (instead of four), so we’ve spent more time getting to know them better.
What are the home cooks like?
Some of them are amazing, and I’ve picked up loads of cooking tips. The best thing is when the award-winning chefs show you how to poach an egg properly and things like that. And the challenges are things viewers can easily do at home; like eggs Benedict, or an amazing soft meringue with a blow torch.
You’ve been on Celebrity Masterchef (back in 2015), do you still enjoy cooking?
Even though I’m tasting food all day doing this, I still love cooking. And watching a top chef breaking down a recipe in front of you really does make it easier to try at home – I feel like I’m more of a whizz in the kitchen! Harry [Sheree’s Australian former footballer husband Harry Kewell] is loving it.
What sort of thing do you enjoy eating and making at home?
Well, the kids [Sheree is mum to Taylor, 16, Ruby, 14, Matilda, eight, and Dolly, five] love anything pasta-orientated. I actually tried the Mary Berry recipe that she made on her Everyday programme (the Bolognaise with white wine and double cream). That’s my kids’ new favourite!
What about if you’re in the mood for romance?
Probably a fish dish. I love seabass and I also do a really nice Pan Asian salmon with lots of chilli, ginger and garlic. I know they’re a winner to get to Harry’s heart. I’m a basic home cook; I’m not super-duper fancy. I am good on presentation though I can even make fish and chips look nice on a plate…
With all this eating, are you having to watch your waistline?
For the first series of the show I didn’t put on too much weight. This time however I didn’t have time to go to the gym and I’ve put on a little bit of weight. I’ve been back to boot camp with a vengeance, but trying to shift 9lbs is probably the hardest thing. Why does it take so long to come off, but you can put it on in a matter of a week? It’s not fair!
Do you normally try to stick to a strict diet?
I always have a good breakfast, something like porridge with flaxseeds and blueberries. Lunch can be salad with brown rice and chicken, and for dinner I usually eat what the children have – we all sit down together at around 5pm. I’ll let myself have a little treat, and at the weekend we’ll have a takeaway or eat out.
What are you watching on the telly?
I love cooking shows like The Great British Menu – and I can’t wait for The Great British Bake Off to start on Channel 4. I’ve just binge-watched (Sky’s) Big Little Lies. I watch all the soaps too; I keep up with Emmerdale [Sheree played Trisha Dingle for six years until 2004] and I love how Marlon Dingle still talks about my character. Mark [Charnock, who plays Marlon] texted me to say: “You’re still in our thoughts!” Very sweet.