BBC Young MasterChef brings Hyde and Oldham contestants to our screens

A young Youtuber and architecture student from Hyde, Rizwan Ahmed, and student and retail worker Rima, from Oldham, are at the forefront of the incredible line-up on the latest series of the popular foodie competition.

Alongside the local pair, seven other of Britain’s best young chefs took a break from their day jobs to put their cooking skills to the test. Michelin-trained social media sensation Poppy O’Toole is joined by a new judge this year: chef, author and YouTube food star Big Has.  

Rizwan is a 19-year-old architecture student at The University of Salford and currently lives in Hyde with his parents and siblings.

“My earliest food memories are with my mother. She always cooked the best food dishes, but when it came to presentation skills, it was horror! Of course, her artistic son had to intervene, and I started to learn and present her dishes in more artful ways,” Rizwan reminisces.

He aims to bridge the cultural gap between South Asian-style cuisine and other styles through his cooking. He claims to be a long way from being as tidy and organised around the kitchen as his mum.

“My style of cooking is adventurous. I am willing to take risks and amend my recipes as I go – I want my cooking to be the best and stand out from the crowd. My style of cooking is charismatic and enjoyable. Being a loud person, cooking really allows me to chill and focus.

“I'd like to bring my personality into my cooking, and I’m hoping my artistic ideas will help in my presentation. I also want to show my humour and bubbly self while doing all this. Even though it’s a competition, I want to have fun no matter what,” he said.

A popular Hyde-focused Facebook group garnered a massive reaction to Rizwan's announcement that he was taking part in the show. Several people commented, wishing him good luck and saying that they'd root for him. 

Meanwhile, Rima is a student at York St John University, and lives at home in Oldham with her parents and siblings. Rima’s earliest cooking memory is making breakfast with eggs, which still holds true.

“I love all types of cuisine, and I’d say my style of cooking is very diverse. I enjoy free-styling rather than following recipes,” said the passionate young chef.

“I applied to the competition because I thought it would give me a confidence boost. I’ve only cooked for friends and family before and felt like I wasn’t good enough to present my food anywhere else. So, I thought Young MasterChef would be the best opportunity for me to learn and do my favourite thing at the same time,” she added.

Rima describes cooking in the MasterChef kitchen as a "crazy" feeling, and she finds it almost surreal. She’d like to start her own restaurant or make it big in the food TV world in the future.  

Here’s wishing all the best to the two young aspiring MasterChefs. 

Info: *BBC Young MasterChef airs every Monday at 6am on iPlayer and 8pm on BBC Three.