MasterChef: The Professionals winner says family inspired her success

Nikita Pathakji said she hoped to work with some of her show rivals in the future

The winner of TV cooking contest MasterChef: The Professionals joked her success on the show had helped to convince her mother of her culinary talent.

Nikita Pathakji, from Derby, was crowned champion on Sunday after impressing judges over six weeks of intense cooking challenges.

The 25-year-old said it felt "amazing" to have won the competition.

And she credited her family for sparking her passion for cuisine.

Judge Marcus Wareing described Ms Pathakji's cuisine as "sublime"

In the final, Ms Pathakji wowed the judges - Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing, renowned chef Anna Haugh and TV presenter Gregg Wallace - with a three-course meal inspired by her travels.

Her winning menu featured sea bass cured in a citrus dressing with a smoked aubergine puree, and a side of aubergine crisps.

This was followed by a take on her favourite dish from Thailand, Khao Soi, with a cardamom and custard tart paired with a honey and lemon sorbet for dessert.

Wallace said: "Nikita opened up the larder of the world and brought us dish after stunning dish after stunning dish."

Party food

Ms Pathakji, who was raised in Littleover and now works as a junior sous chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant in London, said her culinary flair had been shaped by her parents.

"My mum has been cooking since I was a kid, creating dishes, and I've been cooking with her in the kitchen," she said.

"And then my dad really sparked my love of travelling, so all of them together are the reason I cook the food I do.

"Before I became a chef at first, she [her mother] would let me do canapés and desserts - but now she will actually give me a course, which is very exciting.

"We're always a household that host parties and cooks all the food for everyone. People come to our house with Tupperware because they know there'll be so much they can take home."

"As soon as Nikita walked into the kitchen I could see she had class," judge Anna Haugh said

Ms Pathakji said she hoped her success on the show would act as a springboard for exciting projects in the future.

"It's very exciting because it's the first time in my career where there are people who really want to eat my food - and I want to do that for them," she said.

"I want to do pop-ups and collaborations and work with the fabulous chefs I competed alongside.

"It's still a work in progress but there'll definitely be things in the new year I think."