North Staffordshire native Louise is BBC MasterChef finalist

A mum who left North Staffordshire to start a new life in Devon is one of the four MasterChef finalists. Louise Lyons Macleod had wowed judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace in the heats with her take on a 'deconstructed' lobby.

The 44-year-old came up with the inspiration for the dish after having it on the school dinner menu as a child. Lobby - from the Scandinavian lapskaus or lobscouse - was a popular dish for potters during the industrial revolution, and can still be found on many pub menus today.

Louise told viewers at the time: "It's dishwater with stuff floating in it. The original recipe is onions, beef, carrots, swede and pearl barley. Essentially I’m using all the same ingredients with a couple of luxury additions. I’m going to do a steak with bone marrow sauce and a crispy, stuffed bone marrow on the side; swede fondant; and some pearl barley. It won’t be a stew at all, so the pearl barley will be served separately, the sauce will be served separately, and you can hopefully pour the sauce over and make it all taste as one meal."

READ: Masterchef contender serves 'deconstructed lobby' to judges — here's how she did - Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace loved the dish

READ: MasterChef narrator India Fisher, her Stoke-on-Trent links, and famous family - India Fisher attended St Thomas’ Primary School, in Hartshill, and St Thomas More High School, in Longton - and got ridiculed for her 'interesting' name

Now farmer and cancer survivor Louise has gone on to reach the final four. The series concludes with the grand final on Wednesday - where three of the four remaining cooks out of a starting line-up of 58 will do culinary battle.

This week the four kick off with a trip to Singapore in which they must cook in a street market and also at a five-star hotel. In Tuesday's episode they have returned to London's Mayfair, where they get the chance to recreate a classic dish at famous three-starred restaurant Le Gavroche before it closes its doors forever, guided by restaurant boss Michel Roux Jr himself - and one of them will be eliminated from the competition. And then, in time-honoured fashion, the final trio will each prepare a sumptuous three-course menu for judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, who will judge them on taste, presentation and originality.

Meet North Staffordshire native Louise:

Louise now runs a 25-acre farm in Exmoor National Park and applied to take part after reaching a huge medical milestone.

Louise, who has an eight-year-old daughter with helicopter pilot husband Ally, explains: "The reason I applied this year was that I had just had my five-year cancer-versary. I was diagnosed when my daughter was 18 months old and our world imploded. My diagnosis and intense treatment took a long time to come to terms with and changed me."

Louise specialises in rearing native rare breed animals and says that friends and family have been encouraging her to take part in MasterChef for the past 15 years. She said she was thrilled to reach the last week of the competition.

She added: "It's a dream come true. I've been the biggest fan of the show forever and it's the only TV show I religiously watch. We are lucky to have true seasonality and the best farmers in the world. At home it's my aim to feed my family and friends with as much home-grown veg and home-reared meat as possible." I work and live for the farm-to fork-philosophy, for my food to be sustainable with as little waste as possible, and above all to be delicious. It would be my dream to write a book showcasing British seasonality."

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