“I’m always up for a challenge and I love cooking"
Love Island‘s Shakira Khan will be taking on a new challenge as she is confirmed as a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef.
Best known for finishing runners-up on Love Island 2025, Shakira was recently a co-host on The Debrief.
She will now be swapping villa drama for the kitchen heat as she hopes to showcase her culinary skills and family heritage in week one.
Shakira revealed that she signed up for the cooking competition because she wanted to push herself beyond her comfort zone.
She said: “I’m always up for a challenge and I love cooking, but I’m a simple cook. I’m good but I want to go out of my comfort zone and learn ‘sick recipes’, it will be fun.
“I want to make my family proud and show the flavours I grew up with. I also want to prove to myself that I can improve and surprise people.”
On her earliest cooking memories, Shakira said:
“My dad is an amazing family cook. He has been tutoring me ahead of the competition, whereas my mom would burn fish fingers.
“I learnt about Pakistani heritage from my dad. We ended up fusing cuisines and creating dishes like Keema Spaghetti Bolognese or curried beans on toast.”
Although she is keen to learn new recipes, Shakira admitted that sweet treats are her top dishes.
She explained:
“Desserts and baking are my specialties! On Sundays I’m the queen of cakes whipping up a ‘Manchester tart’ for my siblings.”
When it comes to comfort food, Shakira said she enjoys dishes linked to both her family and personal tastes, including one of her father’s signature meals.
“Well, my hungover meal is shepherd’s pie and gravy or my dad’s Chicken Kerai so probably one of those! I also love sweet and savoury combos such as peach and honey burrata toast.”
Shakira Khan hopes to impress judges Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli with her culinary creations.
Also on week one are Olympic weightlifter Emily Campbell, presenter Jason Mohammad, musician Jay McGuiness and comedian Joe Pasquale.
As she enters the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen, Shakira Khan will be hoping her blend of family recipes, cultural influences and love for baking can help her stand out among this year’s celebrity contestants.
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