'MasterChef' 2012 champion crowned in final
Published Mar 15 2012, 22:01 GMT | By Tom Eames
© BBC
The 29-year-old beat fellow finalists Andrew Kojima and Tom Rennolds to become only the second female winner in eight years.
On her win, Permalloo said: "I am completely and utterly overwhelmed. I never thought it was going to be me that would win, the guys [Tom and Andrew] were so amazing and I just never thought it could happen to me.
"I am so happy and pleased that I was able to win by staying true to my roots. I am proud to have made my family proud and to support Mauritians as well. I think if my dad was around he would have been the proudest person ever."
Judge John Torode said: "What Shelina has done throughout this competition is outstanding. She is a very special cook with an exceptional talent who always wears a smile and cooks with care, to assault the senses and bring sunshine to a plate."
Gregg Wallace added: "If ever there was a restaurant that had to happen it is Shelina's because her food is incredible. You can't find it in very many places; you can't really find it outside of Mauritius. I agree, she really does put sunshine on a plate."
© BBC Pictures
The final task saw contestants prepare a three-course meal for judges Torode and Wallace.
Permalloo will next appear at the BBC Good Food Show at the Glow, Bluewater from April 12-15.
Of the live show, she added: "I'm really excited and equally nervous to be cooking live alongside some incredible chefs like Tim Anderson and Lisa Faulkner at the launch of BBC Good Food at Glow, Bluewater. It will be incredible to be in the same space as these guys!"
Talking about her toughest moment during the series, she said: "I think every challenge was tough but the best thing was how much you learn at the end of it. Thailand was probably the most physically exhausting because of the heat and the sheer amount of arm power needed to pound those pastes!
"Cooking for royalty in Thailand was an incredible experience, I doubt I'll ever have the honour of cooking for royalty again, seriously a once in a lifetime opportunity."
On her future career, she added: "I dream of opening a restaurant one day, raising the profile of Mauritian food in the UK, and be working with, and surrounded by, food."
Tim Anderson became the youngest ever amateur winner of MasterChef last year.
Vicki Richardson - I must have missed that! Well seems I was right about not liking him. Not a nice thng to do tsk!
March 19th 2012 at 2:05pm
I don't recall them ever making it clear how the oven changed temperature or who was responsible for it.
March 17th 2012 at 9:24pm
Sue Head Turned the oven down on a contestant then laughed about it after
March 17th 2012 at 10:06am
Sue Head I think any 'smugness' is due to his very dry humour not translating well in the soundbite interviews. He's obviously unhappy in his job as a plasterer and needs to build himself up to give himself confidence. I hope he gets a good job in a restaurant soon, as he's very talented, whether people warm to him or not.
March 17th 2012 at 1:04am
I take it this is a reference to the souffle incident? He did nothing wrong; they just cut back to a shot of the dish from before they started eating it, to remind people of what it looked like as it came out of the oven rather than what it looked like after waiting around to be filmed as they moved the cameras and adjusted the lights... as they do with every single meal throughout the series. It's called 'editing' not cheating.
March 16th 2012 at 11:17pm