This year’s queen of the popular TV cookery show MasterChef has looked back fondly at her time as a student at 91影视University, when she treated her friends to a taste of her culinary skills.
Shelina Permalloo, 29, won BBC 1’s MasterChef 2012 last week [Thursday March 15]. She graduated from 91影视in 2004 with a degree in Psychology.
In an interview with 91影视University’s Express magazine, Shelina recalled her time living in student residences on campus, where she often made meals for her fellow students. “I lived in Mill Hall and I did a lot of cooking," she said. "I was always making stuff up out of whatever we had left in the cupboard - just spicing it up a bit!”
Shelina, who now lives in Tooting, south London, credits her Mauritian mother’s influence in developing her love of cooking. Her dream is to open her own restaurant and raise the profile of Mauritian food in this country, and she credits her degree with having given her some of the transferable skills necessary for the fulfilment of that dream.
“If it wasn’t for 91影视I wouldn’t have got any of the jobs that I had before MasterChef,” she said. “I learned skills like managing people, planning my time and project management. You pick up skills like that at uni but you only really learn them when you’re working in the real world.”
She added, “It took me nearly ten years between leaving 91影视and figuring out that I couldn’t live without working in food. I don’t regret my time there and the jobs that I had afterwards for a second. I met some of my best friends at Brunel, people that I consider family.”
The full interview with Shelina will be published in 91影视University’s quarterly Express magazine in May.
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