Emily Campbell: From Celebrity MasterChef to top of weightlifting podium

Both Haaland and Campbell had taken ownership of the meals-to-muscle journey, learning meticulously about every morsel they consumed.

For Campbell, who grew up in Nottingham, cooking was something she loved and competing in the culinary space came with the motto she told BBC about – “Life’s too short not to challenge yourself!”

England’s Emily Campbell celebrates after winning the Women’s +86kg weightlifting final during the Commonwealth Games 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, July 30, 2026. Campbell went on to win the gold medal in the event. (PTI Photo)

Speaking to BBC’s food section, Campbell would say, “I’m confident in the kitchen, but there’s a lot I want to know. My good friend Kadeena Cox won the show, and it inspired me to give it a go — we are bonded by food!”

Cox had gone on to overcome an uncomfortable relationship with food, suffering from bulimia, which was in fact caused by the massive pressure that elite athletes are put under to look a certain way. She won Celebrity MasterChef and fell in love with food again.

Campbell was expected to consume 3,500 calories daily to stay fuelled. It’s why she got into the habit of cooking not mere huge portions but for big groups. “Well, I cook as two people, Emily the Athlete, and Emily the person. I find it much easier being the chef for multiple people, not just one. I’m usually the chef on training camps for my athlete friends,” she would tell the same media.

Campbell was the only European super heavyweight to qualify for Paris, and her early struggle included local businesses literally dropping off fruits and vegetables at her place to ensure she got her necessary intake. After a crowdfunding request on Tiktok, local cobblers fashioned her the lifter’s stability waist belt. But it was her childhood that shaped her cooking instinct.

England’s Emily Campbell celebrates winning the gold medal in the women’s +86kg Weightlifting Final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, July 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Reggae and food

“My mum and dad always shared the cooking, but Sundays were my dad’s Caribbean cooking day,” she told BBC. She would wake up on Sundays to the wafting aromas of curried mutton, rice and peas, with reggae in the background. “I would also eat Curry Goat and rice at my grandparent’s house after dance class,” she recalled.

Caribbean curried mutton carries distinct flavours of spring onion and thyme marinated goats, and the Jamaican curry mix – it’s garam masala core spices and stronger turmeric and ginger.

As Campbell grew up, she took to putting a Jamaican spin on her favourite Mexican. “I cook for myself every day. I’ll make salmon, rice and grilled veg, Chicken Laksa, Chicken Caesar Salad, (Hawaiian) poke bowls (with tuna) or Spaghetti Bolognese,” she said.

Her MasterChef credentials? When asked what she would cook to impress friends, she reeled off, “I’d go for a starter of Mushroom Bruschetta, a main of Grilled Salmon, chive mash, garlic broccoli and green beans with a lemon and tarragon sauce. For dessert I’d go for a Biscoff cheesecake with cream.”

Her social media feed has 99 percent reels on lifting techniques and interesting Olympic themed hairdos for competition. But there’s a sprinkling of cook-off videos with fellow lifter Zack George — where Campbell discusses basics. Nothing as complex as her favourite cuisine Japanese — sushi, teppanyakis and ramen, but salads and mac and cheese. Nutritionists have been curating bespoke meals for elite athletes for long. And then come along, Haaland and Campbell, who stir up a nice storm and feed themselves in the kitchen.