Fife entrepreneur wins Come Dine With Me

Byam Trotter (29), who runs Trotter’s Independent Condiments, selling a mixture of unique dips, sauces and pestos, won the £1000 prize on Monday’s edition of the TV show with a score of 22 out of a possible 30.

His menu included “B Road Venison” – a nod to the apparent roadkill used in the recipe.

Byam says it was a nervous wait to see how the programme would turn out when it was broadcast this week, after it was initially filmed around 9 months ago.

“It was nerve-racking waiting on the programme, as I didn’t know what they were going to show,” he said. “And also I didn’t know what the other contestants might say.

“I’m surprised I won, as I thought I kind of messed it up a bit.

“It can be quite a long week, but not too tiring. It’s really interesting to see behind the scenes. Every day they come round to the host’s house to start filming at around 9am, with the guests arriving at about 3pm, and apparently you’re lucky if you finish before midnight. We did hear that during some shows that people can be there till about 5am. Thankfully we weren’t that late.

“It’s all very structured, and scripted to an extent.

“I definitely regret the chocolate mousse incident. We were all messing around and taking turns eating the mousse like they do on the adverts. We all did it but, of course, they only showed me doing it on camera so it just looked odd. It must have been one of the best bits.

After a slightly rocky start between Byam and Kirkcaldy contestant Keith, the pair started to get along as the week went on.

“As an experience I’d recommend it, and you can make new friends,” Byam said. ”Keith and I got along great, at first there was a little bit of tension, but as the week went on it was fine.

“We’ve met up a few times since. We all had dinner last Saturday, it was a great night, and quite funny. We kept taking the micky a bit and pretending the director was there and gave each other instructions. We’ll probably meet again.

“It’s good fun, I think you have to be a certain type of person to do it. You have to be thick skinned. After the show aired I made the mistake of checking Twitter and saw some unsavoury comments.

“It didn’t bother me, but if you’re sensitive then it can be a different story.”

And what was the secret of Byam’s success?

“I didn’t make anything too different, but I made sure it had the right Scottish-sourced ingredients. I can’t take all the credit, a lot of it was down to my suppliers.”

The Fife episode is available online via catch-up.