Double Brit Award and three time MOBO Awards winning R&B, garage, and hip hop singer and rapper Ms Dynamite (Niomi MacLean-Daley) admits that she hates sharing a kitchen - so how does she think she will fare having to cook with a host of other celebrities?"My family think I'm crazy for taking part in the show because I always shout at them and tell them to get out of the kitchen when I'm cooking. I just can't multi-task, especially when it involves cooking.
"If someone talks to me I have to stop what I'm doing in order to concentrate. God help anyone who tries to have a conversation with me on the show if I'm trying to cook, I may even end up telling them to shut up."
Having recently become a vegetarian, which she confesses was "down to vanity"; Ms Dynamite is dreading the prospect that one of her challenges may involve gutting or skinning an animal.
"I think the main reason I became a vegetarian was I woke up one day and realised I'm 27-years-old and I'm still getting spots. I thought to myself 'Okay I need to figure out what's in my diet that isn't agreeing with me.'
"Once I started to cut down on the meat and dairy products it started to improve - it was all down to vanity to be honest. I don't want to get on my high horse about it but I do feel a lot healthier in my diet. I don't think I would struggle to cook meat during the show but gutting and skinning an animal would be a different story."
The singer jokes that she may bring music into Hell's Kitchen, even if it's just humming but admits that that intimidation can "get her back up".
How does she think she will cope working with the legendary chef Marco?
"I doubt I'll break into song when I'm in the kitchen but speaking of which, when I started making a sandwich during the warm up, the first thing I did was start humming away to myself, so who knows? When you're on your own it's different but then again if I start getting a bit stressed out it may help to calm me down.
“I’ll definitely be nervous. If Marco started shouting at me I’m worried that I may answer back, it all depends on the scenario...
“I haven’t met Marco before but I think he seems really cool. He comes across like it’s my way or the highway. Nonetheless, I like that because you always know where you stand with someone like that. I much prefer it when people speak their mind rather than pussyfooting around. I feel safe in his hands, if I am doing something wrong I’m sure he’ll correct me very quickly and that’s the best way I can learn. He seems very passionate and genuine…if a little scary from time to time.”
Admitting to feeling “a little out of my depth” when cooking, Ms Dynamite also reveals that she never follows a recipe and makes it up as she goes along.
“I like to think I am a good cook but honestly I can’t cook many dishes. Even when I do cook I don’t tend to follow the rules. I’ll fry something that should be done in the oven and visa versa but I get there in the end. I would say my signature dish has to be a roast dinner and I also make a pretty tasty pumpkin soup. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost two years now so I must admit I haven’t tasted one of my own roasts for a while now. That’s not to say I don’t miss meat, just not enough to go back.
“Something I really wouldn’t be prepared to cook, as it’s a nightmare ingredient for me is semolina - it brings back childhood traumas from school.
“My most memorable meals from childhood would be my Mum’s shepherd’s pie and my Nan’s pea stew. My Mum makes the most amazing shepherd’s pie which of course, I can’t eat now as I’m a vegetarian.”
After a break from the music industry, the singer reveals that she has a dislike of cameras and is hoping she will be able to cope with being in Hell’s Kitchen.
“I’m not sure how I’ll cope with the cameras - I think they’re going to be a big problem. I’m really hoping I’ll forget they’re there but it’s a part of my career as a singer that I’ve never gotten used to. The cameras are just there in your face constantly and it’s not like it’s even a person you can have a conversation with, they’re just objects that make me very nervous.
“The main thing I’m going to miss from the outside world is my five-year-old son. I’ll also miss my freedom and I hate the thought of having restrictions placed on me. It’s a different story if I choose to sit in my house for two weeks but I don’t like the fact that I have been told to stay in the house. I hate not being able to go where I want to.”
Ms Dynamite's Food Heaven: Thai food, West Indian food, African food, Chinese, Italian.
Ms Dynamite's Food Hell: Baked beans, anchovies.
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