Shelina Permalloo

Born in Southampton, Shelina grew up in a Mauritian family and credits her mum Sheila for teaching her how to cook. Shelina was Shelia's sous chef (how's that for a tongue twister) and only ate Mauritian food at home - a colourful blend of Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, French, African and Indian cuisines. Despite dreams of becoming a chef, a teenage Shelina went to uni and, psychology degree in tow, ended up working for charities. She gave up her job to concentrate on MasterChef.