Crystelle Pereira: ‘This is controversial but... French food isn’t that great’

The British-born cook chats to Katie Wright about celebrating her Goan-Portuguese heritage in her first recipe book, recovering from burnout and meeting King Charles

Crystelle Pereira was a runner-up on the Great British Bake Off in 2021 (Vanessa Lewis/PA)

Crystelle Pereira can’t believe how time has flown in the two years since she competed in the Great British Bake Off.

“Since I hit send on that application, it’s literally felt like I have just hit, like, times 10 in speed of life!” she tells me, wide-eyed, on a video call from the home in North London she shares with her parents and one of her two sisters.

The 28-year-old – who finished runner-up to Giuseppe Dell’Anno in the 2021 season – was working in a fast-paced finance job when she took part.

Landing a book deal shortly after the series aired (seven publishers were vying for her signature), she waited seven months before handing in her notice to pursue a cookery career.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist, but I’m a realist,” the London-born cook says.

“It’s very easy to quit your job and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m famous, this is great’. But I thought, ‘I don’t want to quit my job blindly and chase my dreams’. I need to think, ‘Is this viable? Can I actually get work?'”

How did she decide to finally take the plunge? “It got to a point where I was like, I’m just working two full-time jobs – I’ve got no more annual leave, I’m about to burn out.

“And also I need to grab this opportunity with both hands and just do it [otherwise] I think I’ll always regret it.”

She hasn’t looked back since: “Honestly, it’s the best decision I’ve made. [Cooking] is literally my full-time job, it’s no longer a side hobby that I rush to do after I finish a long day of work.

“It means I’ve got more time to really put into my job, I’m free to go on trips to Italy to look at Parmesan,” (an excursion she’s embarking on soon) “and obviously doing my book took up so much time.”

Pereira attending the UK premiere of ‘The Menu’ (Alamy/PA)

Flavour Kitchen, her debut cookbook, is a colourful ode to Pereira’s Portuguese-Goan heritage (her parents met in Mumbai before moving to the UK).

Split into two halves, the savoury section features brunch bites, curries, pasta, noodles, salads and more, all bursting with international flavours, such as Goan chilli chicken fry, kimcheese toasty, and honey and chipotle baked camembert.

The sweet half is all about cakes, cookies, pies and other treats with a twist. Bake Off fans will remember the pistachio, orange and cardamom carrot cake Pereira created for her final Signature Challenge.

“Goa is in the south of India, and it was colonised by the Portuguese,” Pereira says, which is why Goan food is so different to the rest of Indian cuisine.

Vindaloo curry, for example, has its roots in Europe: “The Portuguese had this dish called carne de vinha d’alhos, a pork and wine dish. The Goans took that and swapped Portuguese wine with Goan vinegar and that became vindaloo.”

Many of the savoury recipes in Flavour Kitchen feature a liberal splash of the tangy liquid.

“Our food is very vinegar-based, which sounds a bit off-putting but it just works because it’s all balanced really well,” Pereira says.

“If something’s got lots of vinegar, then it’s offset with something sweet like jaggery, which is an unrefined sugar, or coconut, because coconuts are in abundance in Goa.”

Given the choice, the adventurous cook would much rather tuck into fiery fish curry, egg fried rice with Korean gochujang chilli paste or noodles with “about 10 cloves of garlic” than a plate of pretentious haute cuisine.

“I will be honest, this is really controversial…” she begins, pausing before admitting: “I’m not that big on French food.”

Conceding that Parisian pastries are unbeatable, she continues: “I’m just more into pan-Asian and Mediterranean food – I just think the flavours are a bit more vibrant.

“Like you think about South Korea, you think about gochujang; in Greece you think about fresh mint, coriander, lemon, halloumi; Mexico, you’ve got chipotle; go to the Middle East, you’ve got harissa, ras el hanout [spice mix], all these flavours.”

The cook credits her mum and dad’s cooking for helping her develop a taste for the exotic, and her late grandad – to whom she dedicates the book – with overseeing her success.

“He sadly he passed away before any of this took off, but I genuinely believe in life after death – I genuinely believe he’s been a big part in guiding me through all of this.

“I think he just knew l was going to end up in food. Funnily enough he used to call me MasterChef – we used to watch a lot of cooking shows together.”

Having amassed 190,000 Instagram followers and cooked live on Good Morning America, The Today Show and ITV’s Lorraine, Pereira is well on her way to celebrity chef status.

There have been many a pinch-me moment during her first year as a fully-fledged foodie, none more surreal than when she met King Charles (at that point still a Prince) at a Queen’s Jubilee lunch event last summer.

“[Charles and Camilla] turned up and I thought, ‘I’m sure they won’t come over to speak to us,” Pereira recalls.

“All of a sudden he’s walked over and said, ‘Oh, do you mind if I sit there? Because there was a seat next to me.”

What did the pair talk about? “I think I was just word-vomiting! I said ‘Do you like baked goods?’ and ‘Do you bake?’

“The general consensus was he doesn’t bake, but he does like to eat. He likes cakes, he likes Italian cuisine. And then I was just talking to him about my style of baking and stuff. We had a merry old chat!”

As well as finding herself starstruck by royals, Pereira has had to get used to being recognised by fans: “It literally happened the day after the first episode, which was wild.

“I was going to work, I was on the train platform – I had a mask on my face, which is even funnier. This girl comes up to me and goes, ‘Oh my gosh, are you Crystelle from Bake Off?”

Though she was recently “so embarassed” to be spotted at the end of spin class while “red and sweaty”, being asked for selfies is a small price to pay for being able to live out her dream.

“I will never complain,” she says. “Like, no one’s there like throwing things at me! If I bump into anyone on the train or on holiday or whatever everyone is genuinely so lovely, so it’s actually just really nice to be honest.”

‘Flavour Kitchen: Vibrant Recipes with Creative Twists’ by Crystelle Pereira (Kyle Books, £22).