An East Lancs chef has described the “bitter-sweet” feeling she has after being eliminated from a national TV cooking competition at the semi-final stage.

Kara Crossley, 25, from Hapton, made it to the final four of BBC Three’s Young Masterchef, making it through nine episodes with dishes ranging from apple crumble-topped pizza to pornstar martini ice-cream.

After a hugely impressive run, Kara, who works as a social media assistant, saw her streak come to an end in the second semi-final, where each of the contestants were tasked with making their own street food dishes to impress food entrepreneurs and social media stars.

For them, she prepared a trio of Lancashire bon-bons; one containing haddock, pea and mint puree, and tartar sauce with mini crispy chips; one cheese and onion with onion jam and crispy onions; and one berry, black pudding, and bacon topped with apple cider sauce and apple crisps; all with a pint of beer.

READ MORE: Hapton mum Kara Crossley bows out of Young MasterChef in semi-final

An impressive selection, but the work-level proved to be too much and though Kara acknowledged this, she remained proud of how far she went on the show.

She said: “It’s very bitter-sweet. I never thought I’d get through the first episode.

"After cutting my finger on the first day I didn’t think I’d get through that, never mind getting to the final four.

"It was a very stressful challenge but I’m happy for the other guys who got through to the final.

“I just didn’t have enough time in prep to be able to get it ready for service, then obviously the pressure got to me and I cried my eyes out!

“I kind of knew when we finished the prep time that I wasn’t going to get it done to the level I wanted to, so it was just time. But what can you do?

“I’m so proud of myself, my family and friends are so proud. I didn’t think I’d even get on the show, never mind get to the semi-finals.

"It’s a massive achievement that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life and I can’t wait to show my daughter when she’s older.”

The chance to get positive feedback from two of the country’s top chefs week in week out has done wonders for Kara’s self-confidence in the kitchen.

She said: “I’ve always loved cooking. Your friends and family can all say ‘yeah I like your food’ but you never really know if they actually like it.

“In the episodes I’m absolutely shocked when I get through because I didn’t think two Michelin Star chefs [judges Poppy O’Toole and Kerth Gumbs] would actually think my food is good.

“To get through to the semi-final has given me all the confidence in the world.”

READ MORE: East Lancs mum-of-one to star in new MasterChef series

Kara has previously spoken of her dreams to open her own bistro in her hometown of Hapton, and while that remains a long-term goal, she has other plans of how to spread the word about her cooking.

She said: “I’ve got to build my way up and get my name out there. Hopefully that’s what I’ve done with being on the show and showcasing my food.

“I’d love to do cookbooks, or YouTube channels, or social media. I can try and build all of that to get a following.

“Hapton is such a small place but everyone is so supportive. Every time I walk around town everyone says ‘I saw you last night on the telly!’. I know that if I was to open something in Hapton everyone would support it.

“It’s so hard to get somewhere, though. We’ve only got a chippy, a corner shop, and a pub! We need some like that [a bistro], it’s just having the premises to do it.

“That’ll be a longer-run thing but I’d love to bring my own book out, push on social media. A night with Kara Crossley at the Hapton Inn, maybe something like that to get my name out there.”