Samantha Mumba’s name is familiar to anyone who grew up in the noughties. The singer became an instant sensation at the age of 15 with her first single Gotta Tell You, which was an international hit.

Films and clothing endorsements with brands such as Reebok followed, but after moving to LA over 10 years ago, Samantha fell under the radar.

Now, after a few years out of the public eye, the 34-year-old is making a comeback on Irish screens with an appearance on Celebrity MasterChef on TV3 alongside celebrities such as Sonia O’Sullivan, Niamh Kavanagh and Simon Delaney.

“I get approached for lots of different shows and I do turn a lot of stuff down, especially if it’s something I don’t have a genuine interest in or that I can’t learn anything from,” she says. “I liked the idea of that challenge. I was excited about it from the jump.”

Samantha’s first appearance on the show was aired on Monday, where she impressed the judges with her dish of spicy Oxtail with garlic mash, and her performance in the technical challenge.

With a keen interest in cooking – Samantha considered taking a culinary course before falling pregnant over two years ago – she felt prepared to go on MasterChef. However, the pressure of the kitchen was tough.

“If I’m cooking at home, I’m taking my time. On this, when your time is up, it’s up. That was the hardest part for me, having to stick to the time. Some dishes that I cook at home, there just wasn’t enough time to cook in the kitchen,” she says.

“For the most part, I think everyone who took part had a certain level of cooking experience or a passion for it. I love it, but I love cooking at home for my family, which is totally different to being a professional chef and on TV. It was a bit of a nuts experience.

“There were a lot of different dishes, lots of challenges and we were definitely taken out of our comfort zone. I didn’t even know what I was cooking sometimes!”

Celebrity MasterChef has been the first full-time gig she has undertaken since the birth of her daughter, Sage, who turns two in March. With her husband Torray Scales, Samantha and her daughter travel back and forth from California and Ireland. Is she considering a full-time move back to Ireland?

“I don’t know, to be honest,” she admits. “I think there is a lovely quality of life in California, but it’s lovely being at home with my daughter too and around family. It’s something my husband and I will have to figure out at some point. At the moment I’m happy going back and forth and being greedy and having the best of both worlds.”

There is one significant upside to coming home, though – the food.

“I find it so hard to eat healthy when I’m home,” she laughs. “Sausages are my weakness, and bread. Bread is so horrible in America compared to fresh bread here. I love chocolate in Ireland because I don’t like chocolate in America. I just eat rings around myself. Usually I’m only home for a week so I can indulge, but now that I’m home for longer it’s like, put down the sausages.”

Music

Samantha, who was a part of the Billie Barry School from the age of three, has no regrets about launching a music career at a young age.

“If I was releasing stuff for the first time now I would be dying. When you’re 15, you’re young, you think you’re amazing, you don’t really think or put enough thought into serious things,” she says. “I think ignorance is bliss. I was so young that I kind of went with it like it was nothing to me. If it was now, I would be stressing out about everything.

“Performing was always a passion of mine, always something I did. I kind of didn’t know any differently I suppose,” she adds.

It’s been over 15 years since her debut, and times have changed, says Samantha.

“It’s a different time. When I was out, there wasn’t social media and there wasn’t all these different platforms where you could reach people and you could put yourself out there, and in a way that is a good thing as well and can be very helpful.”

Samantha has a few different projects going at the moment but her focus is very much on her young daughter.

“I’m working on a lot of different things. There are a few different avenues I haven’t gone down this year,” she says. “Honestly, my priority at the moment is my daughter and being creative but having as much time with her as possible.” CL