Newham's Sheryl Teya featured in the Young MasterChef final, which aired this week.
The 21-year-old was one of three finalists in season two of the series and was the only female cook remaining.
The final episode, first shown on BBC Three on February 5, saw all three candidates recreate a recipe from Tom Booton, the youngest head chef to run The Grill at the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Sheryl's recreation of Tom's crispy fried chicken, potato risotto and Hispi cabbage left the judges impressed, with Tom labelling her potato risotto as "wicked".
The second challenge saw the cooks challenged with cooking the ultimate two-course meal to serve to the judges and their families.
READ MORE: Newham cook Sheryl Teya on reaching Young MasterChef final
The contestant's families were able to watch from a screen as the young chefs put together their final dishes.
Despite Sheryl's impressive performance throughout the season, it was 22-year-old Famara Kurang from south London who was crowned Young MasterChef 2024.
Sheryl took to Instagram to celebrate the final, saying: "Finalist 2024 [sic][sic]
& that’s a wrap babes!! Wow what a journey it has been and I am beyond proud of myself and grateful for the experience."
Sheryl's sister Keren said: "She's a bit of a firecracker, she's very, like, out there, very dramatic, like, theatrical.
"She's always had a passion for creating stuff from scratch - she calls me her sous-chef. She's always testing out things on me.
"I'm so incredibly proud of her, this was meant for her. This is her calling, you know?"
Sheryl, a software engineering apprentice at Ravensbourne University, told this paper she discovered her passion for cooking as a child because of her mum.
Sheryl said: "Growing up I used to kind of watch my mum cook.
"Copying her patterns, creating my own recipes - it stemmed from there."
Reflecting on her experience in the competition, she added: "It's something I would just love to do all over again.
"It's taught me to just jump into the deep end and really go for what I want in life."
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