A MasterChef winner who has worked at some of the city's best restaurants wants to "bring Merseyside to the Coronation."
Claire Lara, 42, originally from Moreton and living in Childwall, was just 16 years old when she first started on her journey to become a chef. She later moved to Paris where she worked at Hotel Baltimore, before moving back to Merseyside to work in the likes of London Carriageworks and Panoramic 34.
It was Maggie Rimmer, a tutor on Claire’s Youth Training Scheme, who pushed her to achieve her dreams and she went on to become the first woman to win MasterChef: The Professionals in 2010.
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Claire, who now works as Head of Development at LEAF, One Fine Day and Oh Me Oh My, told the ECHO: "When I first started cheffing there wasn't many female chefs around. [Maggie] really believed in me.
"I was really young and naive when I went to Paris. I didn't speak French. I was there for five years and came back when I was 23/24."
Since winning MasterChef, Claire said she has cooked for late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip when they visited the city for the opening of the Museum of Liverpool. The 42-year-old is one of five chefs who have been asked to design a dish for the King's Coronation as part of a competition called The Coronation Dish on BBC's The One Show with Dame Mary Berry.
The public have until midnight on May 1 to vote for their favourite 'Coronation Dish', with a winner set to be announced next week.
Claire said: "I got a phone call from a presenter asking if I wanted to be part of this show and I jumped at the chance. It's a really great opportunity to be asked and meeting Mary Berry - she's absolutely iconic.
"It was really surreal. I was quite excited and a bit nervous."
To meet the criteria, Claire's recipe had to cost under £15, feed four-six people and be something a group of friends or family can make at home without using too much electricity. Claire said the dish also had to be celebratory and have a "nod to the King or the Royal Family."
She added: "I read that King Charles is a keen vegetable lover and grows vegetables. I thought I want to do something vegetarian and for me filo pastry is quite celebratory - that was also part of the criteria."
After much consideration, Claire decided to create a king oyster mushroom filo tart - her take on a spanakopita, with a nod to King Charles whose dad, Prince Philip, was born in Greece.
Claire said: "It’s simple to make, requires only basic kitchen equipment and can be served as a main course or as part of a larger table of celebration food. It also does not require a large amount of gas or electricity which again I hope will enable the dish to be enjoyed by everybody.
"I just hope I can get Merseyside to the Coronation. For me this is about representing Liverpool and how vibrant and creative our superb food and drink scene is.
"I’m so proud to have been selected as a finalist and as the north’s only entrant. This is a dish which I hope everyone will love and support.” To find Claire’s recipe and vote click here.
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