ONE food fan got more than she bargained for during the Ready, Steady, Cook style challenge hosted by John Torode.

Michaela Daubney, from Bromley Cross, was picked out from the audience to act as judge in the competition, which saw star Bolton chef Mike Harrison pitted against Aiden Byrne, owner of Manchester House and star of the BBC show Restaurant Wars.

She had the unenviable task of choosing a winner between Mike’s turbot dish, and Aiden’s grouse, Michaela plumped for the latter, which was described by John Torode as tasting like “walking through a forest in autumn time”.

She said: “It was really embarrassing, I was shaking. Both dishes were great, but Aidan’s slightly edged it.”

Michaela was plucked from the audience with about five minutes to go during the challenge, which saw both chefs being given a number of ingredients.

They had been kept a closely guarded secret to both the chefs and the audience right until the start of the challenge.

She had the similarly unenviable task of having to describe how the dishes tasted in the presence of John, who performs the same task to millions of people every week, but was commended by the Australian chef for her efforts.