Young MasterChef winner: 'It was a very emotional moment'
"Cooking has always been a part of my life," the young chef says.
Spoiler warning: This interview reveals the winner of Young MasterChef series two.
Famara Kurang is a little dazed.
Not only did the 22-year-old from south London appear in this year’s Young MasterChef, but he’s just taken home the crown.
“It was a very emotional moment,” he says. “It feels a bit surreal to be honest. It’s just such a blessing.”
The final episode was fierce, seeing Famara battle fellow cooks Lewis and Sheryl.
But in typically calm fashion, the parts apprentice made it over the finish line with a winning meal of chicken yassa - a dish originally from Senegal - and sticky toffee pudding with a creamy glaze and popcorn.
'We just knew you’d win'
BBC Three series Young MasterChef sees nine young foodies pause their day jobs to put their cooking skills to the test.
Judge Poppy O’Toole praised Famara’s “really delicious plate of high-level comfort food” while fellow judge Big Has said he “enjoyed every mouthful” of his main course.
When Famara told some close friends and family about his win, some were exuberant while others barely reacted. “We just knew you’d win”, they told him.
Still, returning back to normal life going back to work after such a monumental experience was a challenge.
“Obviously, it's a blessing to have a job and to be able to provide for your family, but it’s hard when you have dreams you’re working on behind the scenes to go back to normal day life,” he says.
And it will take some time to decompress from the adrenaline-inducing final, he says.
'You don't want to let them down'
In a shock twist, the finalists' families were brought into the kitchen to give some last words of encouragement.
Having his family there was a “blessing and a curse,” he says.
“You don't want to make mistakes. You don't want to let them down.”
In hindsight he had nothing to worry about. Upon entering the kitchen, his mother immediately shared that she was proud of him already.
Right from the start, Famara’s connection to his family was clear. “Cooking has always been a part of my life,” he says.
“It’s funny I used to hate to come down and eat, because I wanted to play all day as a child, but over time I began to eat more and understand the flavours from back home.”
His mum would experiment with food, cooking everything from Gambian dishes to European staples like a shepherd’s pie. Suddenly his eyes were open to the range of dishes and flavours available to him, he remembers.
What’s next for the promising young chef?
“Anything as long as it's something food orientated,” he says “That’s my main goal.
“Whether I'm a food content creator and sharing it across my platforms, or taking the culinary side of things more seriously and studying somewhere, there’s so many avenues.”
