Xmas dinner lasagne won me a spot on TV Jamie’s cooking show
FOR centuries it has been a staple of Italian cuisine, thrown together with simple ingredients such as sheets of pasta and beef ragu.
Now a student doctor from Aberdeenshire is aiming to revolutionise our understanding of lasagne, after making it to the finals of Jamie Oliver’s latest cookery show.
She hopes the programme will allow her to produce her own cookbook featuring dozens of varieties of lasagne – including chicken curry lasagne, fish and chips lasagne and traditional Christmas dinner lasagne.
Sarah Wordie, 26, has impressed the celebrity chef and the judges on The Great Cookbook Challenge.
Having applied to the show as ‘bit of a joke’, Ms Wordie said she was shocked to progress through a series of preliminary rounds despite being up against top chefs.
‘I entered on a whim and I didn’t think my lasagne would be a hit,’ she said.
‘Now I’m in the final six so it has been a bit of a whirlwind. I didn’t even tell any of my family about it. They’re all quite shocked that I’m on the telly.
‘This stage of the competition is like The Great British Bake Off and I was very surprised to go through against these professional chefs.’
Viewers who tune in to the first of six knockout rounds tomorrow night will see her cook two lasagnes, including the festive recipe she hit upon while studying for her medical degree.
Ms Wordie said: ‘I lived with a group of girl medical students and we were hosting a Christmas dinner party when I realised that I had forgotten to buy the turkey and could only get turkey mince.
‘That’s when I had a lightbulb moment that I could make a turkey Christmas dinner lasagne. I layered it up with the Brussels sprouts, the chestnuts, cranberry sauce and stuffing. It was a big success.
‘Now I never cook the classic bechamel and beef ragu at all.’
The farmer’s daughter, who now works at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital, has already had the thumbs-up from Oliver after he sampled her mouthwatering meals at his headquarters in London where the programme is filmed.
She said: ‘Jamie was very positive about my idea and said I was onto something and thinks there is a gap in the market for a lasagne cookery book.’
The winner of the series will land a publishing deal with Penguin.