*Update: Erratic kitchen shifts proved a problem for Nicola, who found it hard to work nights. Eventually, she was asked to go back to college but, like Nicola and Jools, did not attend enough to make the grade.

Tell us a bit about your life before you joined the course
I was looking for work when I found out about this job. I'd done a couple of months at a hairdresser's but didn't want to do that.

Which three words best describe you?
Outgoing, determined, outspoken.

Have you always wanted to be a chef?
I did when I was 14 at school doing cookery lessons, but I didn't follow it up.

Where did you do your work experience?
The Trinity restaurant in The Crown and Castle hotel in Suffolk, which is run by the cookery writer Ruth Watson.

What has been the highlight of your training?
Getting to cook lots of different foods.

What has been the worst point?
The hours are weird and it's hard to work evenings, but it's worth it if it's something you want to do.

What is the most important thing you have learned on this course?
You have to have faith in yourself and not be lazy. When I started I did not push myself and I missed some important classes that I could have learned from. I regret that now.

What was your proudest moment?
There have been quite a few. We cooked lunch for a group of chefs and people from the industry at Isola in Knightsbridge. That was a big moment.

What is the hardest bit about the course?
It's doing all the preparation. You have to put in a lot of time and effort, but it shows in the end.

What do you like most about being a chef?
All the cooking; I love doing pastry and fish.

Do you cook at home? Do you cook for other people now?
I love to cook for my family – my parents and my four sisters. I try to get them to eat different things. We never used to eat much fish, so I've cooked things like skate for them. My dream dish would be risotto with wild mushrooms, butternut squash and pecorino cheese – Jamie cooked it for us once.

What is your favourite food? Can you cook it?
Lemon sole – I can cook it now but only since I've done this course.

What do you hope to do in the future?
Carry on training and travel if I can; then in five or six years maybe open my own restaurant.

Tell us a secret about yourself, something away from cooking
I'm a purple belt in karate and love trampolining.

How would you describe Jamie Oliver?
Very passionate about food; a determined, nice person. He's much less OTT than he seems on the telly.