By Jeananne Craig

Natalie Coleman hasn't looked back since winning MasterChef in 2013. The former office worker and DJ talks pursuing your passion, getting kids cooking and seasonal produce with Jeananne Craig

A couple of years ago, Natalie Coleman was just as likely to be spinning the decks in a nightclub as flitting between saucepans in the kitchen.

All that changed in 2013, when the former credit controller and part-time techno DJ won MasterChef and hung up her headphones to pursue her passion for cooking.

''The DJ-ing days are long gone. It's only friends' parties these days. Which is a shame, because I loved playing my music, but you can't do it all,'' says the 31-year-old.

''I packed up my office job, and now everything I do revolves around food.''

Since being crowned winner of the BBC One show, Coleman has brought out her own book, Winning Recipes For Every Day, completed work placements in the kitchens of top chefs such as Marcus Wareing and Michel Roux Jr, and appeared at numerous food festivals and roadshows.

But while Coleman - who jokingly describes herself as ''the girl from Hackney done good'' - confesses her kitchen is ''too tiny to swing a cat in'', she won't be moving away from her east-London base any time soon.

''I like it too much here. There's so much going on, loads of places to eat, you've got Brick Lane, Broadway Market, Vietnamese food - everything's on your doorstep.''

With a laugh, she adds: ''My mum would tell you it's chaos in my kitchen! She won't let me cook in their kitchen. Well, once in a blue moon, but she thinks I make too much mess. I don't think I'm that bad, but she does...''

Coleman's latest project is a series of sweet and savoury recipes for British Cherries to mark this summer's cherry season. The flavoursome dishes include Cherry tart tatin, Cherry mess, Pork, cherry and pistachio terrine, and Spiced duck pancakes with cherry sauce.

You can do so many different things with cherries,'' says Coleman. ''They go really nicely with savoury dishes. With the pork recipe, you need something that's a bit sharp to cut through the fatty meat, so they work really well with it.''

Using fresh, seasonal produce in her dishes is important to the chef. ''You wouldn't eat a roast dinner at the height of summer, would you? You get ingredients at their best when they're in season.''

But what she's most enthusiastic about is inspiring youngsters to get involved in the kitchen.

She's teamed up with Central Street Cooking School in the capital to host affordable cookery lessons for local children.

''They're such a laugh and the kids are so responsive, they love it,'' says Coleman, who finds the classes are a way of encouraging picky eaters to try dreaded fruit and veg.

''We turn fruit and vegetables into something cool. Tomorrow we're doing little chicken shish kebabs and flatbreads and a 'slaw, they don't realise how many vegetables they're getting, and we're doing muffins with cherries in them,'' she adds.

The busy cook and food writer still finds time to tune into MasterChef, which she returned to last year as a guest judge.

''Last season was great. When I went back, I did feel for them,'' adds the star, who admits she got through plenty of nerves-soothing Rescue Remedy during her time on the contest. ''I was in their shoes once, and I know what it's like.''

Here are three of Coleman's recipes for British Cherries for you to try at home.