TORONTO – A Ryerson biomedical engineering graduate will be the first hijabi Muslim contestant to join Masterchef Canada this season, which kicks off in April.

“In order to clear these misconceptions, we have to fully integrate into our society and dispel those terrible misconceptions about Muslims in general, Muslim women specifically,” Reem Ahmed told The Eyeopener.com.

Ahmed, who graduated from Ryerson in 2015, is one of 21 top cooks participating in this season of Masterchef Canada.

The young Muslim said she wanted to participate in the contest to counter misconceptions surrounding Muslim women who choose to don hijab.

“There was some skepticism at the beginning but by being successful in what you are doing and achieving your goals, doing the things you love, and when you are confident about your abilities, then everyone will come around and support you,” she said.

As an engineering graduate, Ahmed said the mental skills used in engineering were brought into cooking, making her shift from engineer to chef “not as challenging.”

“Other than finally enjoying what I do, it wasn’t really different. A lot of the analytical and reasoning skills learned throughout engineering are applicable to cooking and this actually helped me quite a bit.”

Ahmed’s interest in cooking stems from growing up watching her mother and grandmother in Egypt hosting dinners and gatherings, bringing recipes and families together.

She started her cooking journey after marriage by recreating her grandmother and mother’s traditional recipes.

“My grandmother and mother always had people gathered and served them the most delicious meals, it made me want to recreate that memory,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed’s dreams is not limited to the show as she plans to further her cooking career.

“I hope to open my own restaurant called ‘The Pyramid’ and maybe one day have my own cooking show,” she said.

Though it is the first time in Canada, Muslim contestants are not new to cooking contests across the world.

In the UK, Nadiya Hussain, a hijabi Muslim, won Great British Bake Off TV in 2015.

In 2017, another Muslim, Saliha Mahmood-Ahmed, a junior doctor, won the coveted award of Masterchef UK.