JOHN Torode has described her cooking as “sound as a pound”, with Gregg Wallace declaring: “her best food has come straight from her farmhouse kitchen and I love it”.

But Hexhamshire’s own Faye Dodwell has narrowly missed out on making it through to the finals of MasterChef.

The mother of three, who admits she comes from a large extended foodie family, impressed with her skills and combination of flavours to become one of just eight remaining contestants.

As semi-finals week kicked off on Monday night, viewers saw her impress with a dish which showcased her favourite ingredient – pork.

In a plate which showed off the versatility of the meat, and her skill in preparing it, she served up pork loin, braised belly, black pudding bon bons and a quail Scotch egg alongside an apple puree, cider and chorizo sauce with charred baby leeks.

“The cider I used was home-made from our own apple trees,” said Faye, who has designs on one day opening her own cookery school.

“I’d love to show people that cooking really isn’t that difficult if you are prepped and organised. And it doesn’t have to break the bank.

“A lot of my cooking is driven by saving pennies and turning something pretty basic into something really nice.”

On Wednesday night, Faye’s familiarity with cooking in large quantities for the family came in handy when contestants were tasked with cooking up a storm for 120 members of the Holby City cast and crew.

“It was frantic and busy, and I had more duck than I ever imagined to bone out in a very short space of time,” said Faye. “But it was brilliant fun.”

Despite the outcome, Faye, of Steel, said she had been overwhelmed by all of the support she had received.

“I’ve had so many cards and messages from people, it’s been lovely,” she said.

Such has been the response that she’s planning on hosting a special evening, complete with a seven-course set menu, at Vercelli Restaurant in Hexham, which was taken over by her nephew and head chef, Jordan Dodwell, just last month. Canapes, lobster bisque, confit duck leg bon bons and a chocolate and raspberry tart inspired by Faye’s MasterChef experience will all feature in the event on May 14.

More information and limited tickets are available from the restaurant.

Faye will also be the guest of honour at the Allendale Fair later this month where she has a cookery demonstration planned around creating fresh pasta dishes to suit every budget. MasterChef continues on BBC One.