MasterChef loser Speech Debelle: bad luck and veggie dish cost me

Celebrity MasterChef contestant Speech Debelle has blamed her shock exit on bad luck — and a decision to cook a vegetarian dish at a crucial point in the contest.

The former Mercury Prize-winning rapper, who lives in Brixton, was hotly tipped to win the BBC competition and impressed judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace from the first round with her Jamaican-inspired dishes, technical expertise and inventiveness.

But after reaching the last five she was ejected following a round in which the contestants were asked to cook a dish inspired by someone they loved or admired. Debelle, 30, chose to cook a vegetable stack and rice main course inspired by her vegetarian best friend.

She said: “It wasn’t one of my best dishes and on the day it wasn’t enough to keep me in. Maybe there was some bad luck too; from the first time I went in I had locker number three, I was number three in the running order, and on the last day that changed.”

Actor Adrian Edmondson, comedian Les Dennis and journalist Janet Street-Porter are the final three and the winner will be announced tonight.

Debelle, who is working on her third album, has now set up her own food truck, Fatty Boom Boom, based outside the Vibe Bar in Brick Lane. She is also planning to meet a literary agent to discuss a recipe book.

She said: “I love cooking for friends and I’m really into food. I can imagine living somewhere in the Caribbean and farming.”