Harrogate woman reaches knockout week of Masterchef and sets her sights on going even further in the BBC One cooking competition

In Friday night’s episode, all six of the quarter finalists were set a brief by food critic Leyla Kazim, who challenged them to “create a dish that you would make for someone who was feeling a little bit under the weather or in need of a pick-me-up – something that is going to nourish and restore them”.

Abi made an Asian take on a beef and carrot stew with wasabi mash, tempura enoki mushrooms and garlic green beans, saying she wanted her dish to taste like a Chinese takeaway but also look and feel like a stew.

“I took the brief almost as like a hug in a dish,” she said.

"I think mashed potato is one of the most comforting things you can eat, and I always aim towards Asian flavours.”

Giving her critique, Leyla described it as “a very tasty meal”.

Judge John Torode praised her “perfectly smooth mashed potato”, adding: “We have got the flavours of Chinese duck with gravy and mashed potato and wasabi, and I think you’ve done that really well.”

Fellow judge Gregg Wallace described her dish as “very, very, very clever”.

He said: “I think this is fantastic. I think your flavours are daring and you’ve balanced them really well.”

Speaking afterwards, Abi said: “I definitely want more than knockout week – you can’t just get to knockout week and get knocked out, that’d be rubbish!”