A MasterChef winner has teased restaurant hopes for Bolton after falling in love with the town at 18th food and drink festival.
Chariya Khattiyot went from master coffee roaster to MasterChef 2023 champion this summer, and she swapped the BBC kitchen for the event to showcase her culinary skills.
Chariya, 40, became the 19th amateur cook to claim the coveted title on BBC One’s prestigious cooking competition.
She saw off 44 challengers to win over hearts and stomachs with her northern Thai cuisine on MasterChef.
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She also hoped to inspire the people of Bolton with a demo in Victoria Square on Saturday, the second day of the four-day August bank holiday festival with more than 180 stalls and demonstrations from some of the nation’s top chefs.
Chariya, from Farnborough, Hampshire, moved to the UK almost 20 years ago after she was born and raised in Chiang Mai. After winning MasterChef her aim is to introduce people to Thai food they may not have tried before.
Praising Bolton Food and Drink Festival, she said: “There are so many food stalls and they are amazing. It’s huge. This is my first year and it’s really, really big. I’ll definitely be coming again next year.”
She laughed: “Even if they don’t invite me I’ll be coming as a guest, as a visitor.”
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She added: “There should be more events like this across the country.
"Other towns and cities should do something like this. It invites a lot of visitors from all over the country to visit it.
“It’s good for the town, good for business in town. I think it’s really good.”
Speaking about her demo she said: “I’ll be cooking one of my signature dishes I made on the show, showcasing Thai cuisine and hometown food.
"I want to inspire the audience that it’s easy food that you can cook at home and it’s tasty.
“Not a lot of people know about northern Thai food so that’s my mission, to showcase that and spread the word and that it’s easy to do.
"When they talk about Thai food, the thought is about central Thai food, not many people know about food from north of Thailand.”
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Chariya would love to open not just one but several northern Thai food restaurants, and after falling for Bolton’s charms at the weekend the town is in her sights.
“You need to make sure you have the right location so hopefully next year I will open one,” she said.
“That could then be several branches if I can. You never know, we might have a restaurant in Bolton, that would be nice.”
She said about life after MasterChef: “It has been crazy, like a whirlwind. We have a really good relationship between the UK and MasterChef Thailand. I’m a bridge between these two countries.
“British people love to go on holiday to Thailand and Thailand people love to come on holiday here as well so I am kind of an ambassador between these two countries.”
Bolton Food and Drink Festival, whose celebrity guests have also included Gok Wan and Mowgli Street Food founder Nisha Katona, continues on Monday with demos from TV chef James Martin at the Albert Halls at 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
For more information on the festival and full programme of events visit boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com
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