THOMASINA Miers could be any graduate talking excitedly about her year abroad.

In fact it’s 17 years since the 2005 Masterchef winner, who's gone on to open four Wahaca restaurants and now star in TV show Mexican Food Made Simple, discovered South American cuisine during her gap year.

“I was a VAT consultant for nine months of my gap year and utterly miserable,” she says.

“So I went to Mexico where I travelled around, drinking a lot of tequila, dancing and eating.”

Miers, who’s just given birth to a baby girl, admits she was a “very arrogant 18-year-old”.

“I had been cooking since I was six and thought I knew everything. But on the third night, I went to a party where this woman cooked a spread and I didn't recognise any of the flavours... or chillies... or anything.

“I couldn't believe I’d never heard of this food before.”

But like so many childhood dreams, Miers assumed her passion for food was just a bit of fun.

“By 2003 I had tried all these different careers and was miserable because I couldn’t find anything I could stick at,” she explains.

“I did some marketing, advertising and modelling. In fact I was literally going down the catwalk in a bikini helping out a mate, when I met Clarissa Dickson Wright.

“In those days I didn't think cooking could be a career. She really opened my eyes and sent me off to cookery school.”

With a qualification in her pocket, Miers ducked straight back to Mexico, beginning a proper exploration of their cuisine, and even opened a cocktail bar.

“As you travel round Mexico, you'll find different ingredients every 10 miles. Each time I go back I learn so much more.

“The majority of Mexicans live below the poverty line. They slow-cook their meat to get the most out of the flavour, using herbs like oregano, thyme and bay leaves. Then they use fresh herbs on top to get the fresh notes and chillies to add a lovely light heat. Not all chillies are burning hot though, some are sweet, some smoky and others have tobacco notes.”

After a blissful year of eating, Miers returned, as student-poor as ever, and signed up for Masterchef as a last resort.

“When you see the chefs on television and they talk about sacrificing so much, you think, ‘Well it’s just good fun isn't it?’.

“But actually it involves weeks not earning and paying the mortgage, so it is a massive sacrifice... but it can turn your life around.

“I was desperate and essentially unemployed anyway, so I had nothing really to give up.

Luckily, her South American-inspired food wowed the critical pair, although it took a while to convert her win into cash.

“It was really difficult. The show comes out five months after you film it. So having won a competition that’s never been on television, you don’t know what to do!”

After landing a job with a restaurant kitchen, she quickly moved on to food writing, before establishing her own chain of restaurants.

“I love produce and what’s so great about Mexico is that you get people on every income passionate about food and taking care of what they put in their mouths and feed their children.

“Why eat bad food when you can eat good food? It’s got nothing to do with money.”

• Mexican Food Made Simple starts on July 5 on Channel 5. The book by Thomasina Miers is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £20