How has life been since GBBO?
Things have been great.
It’s been a real adventure and I have had the opportunity to do a lot of things.
At the moment I am working with Persil for the launch of the Persil Dual Action Capsules.
We’re running a competition for readers to win a free jam making class with me, which will be a lot of fun. To find out more about the contest, click here.
How did you first get into cooking?
I began cooking meals for my family from a young age and it just took off from there.
I remember watching the first series of MasterChef and Food & Drink as a young child so the love was obviously there from an early age.
Did judges Mary Berry or Paul Hollywood give you any great tips?
Paul explained why bread dough made with different types of flour is more and less likely to ‘flow’ and what to do about it, which was helpful.
And Mary gave me some tips on how to make my food look finished and presentable. Always glaze your fruit, people!
How did you handle your time in the spotlight?
It was very strange suddenly being recognised in the street and on the tube, people wanting to have their picture taken with you and showing you pictures of their baking.
Mostly people are lovely and very warm and want to tell you how much they love the show and I love people so any excuse for a natter is fine with me.
I didn’t read the negative comments on Twitter. I figure people are entitled to their own opinion.
Which chefs do you like?
There aren’t many chefs that I don’t like!
Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi would be up there, and, almost by extension Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich who own Honey & Co.
I love Ravinder Bhogal’s book, Cook in Boots, everything in there is utterly delicious.
Paul A. Young is a chocolate and flavour hero and a thoroughly lovely man as is Dan Lepard.
Richard Bertinet is a friend of the Baker’s Dozen and is an absolute honey.
Bill Granger’s food is light, bright and delicious, and I think I would just like to hang out with Ching He Huang and Gizzi Erskine.
What do you look cooking?
I love communal eating so when I have people over I like to make big sharing meals for people to dig in and help themselves.
It’s so much more social and lively a way to eat and I think food is really important to help people to connect.
So I’ll make a big slow cooked lamb tagine and a platter of jewelled couscous or a stack of homemade tortillas and lots of different bowls of meat and veggies so that there’s lots of movement and interaction up and down the table.
I also of course love desserts in particular jams, so these often get tested on my friends.
What is your favourite summer meal?
Like most people I tend to eat a lot of salads in the summer.
One of my favourite summer salads is mixed beans and peas, grilled courgette and feta with dill and mustard dressing.
My strawberry and black pepper jam is also fantastic on a summer’s day with a nice scone!
Do you always cook for yourself, or do you like eating out?
I have a list of places that I want to go to and I try to work my way through them, but there are so many amazing places to eat that I’ll never get through them all.
My rule of thumb is to always order something that I have never had before or would struggle to make at home so that I am always trying something new.
To find out more about the Persil campaign Kimberley is promoting, visit www.Persil.co.uk.
For more meal ideas, why not sign up for a personalised Closer Diets plan. Just click here to get started on achieving your bikini body. And for July you can enjoy our special offer - pay only £12 and get two weeks FREE!