A former MasterChef contestant who told customers she had closed her gourmet burger van due to a ‘family emergency’ when she was really on a 500-mile round trip to transport cannabis has been spared jail.
Kayleigh Bowler, who reached the quarter finals of the BBC cooking show last year, sells dishes influenced by her Jamaican and Irish background in Bournemouth, Dorset.
But last month she posted on Facebook to inform loyal customers that the business – Kayleigh’s Bournemouth – Fine Food For The Masses – was temporarily shut for a ‘van refurb’.
When one responded that they had been ‘devastated’ after missing out on a Philly cheesesteak, Bowler apologised and said she was dealing with a ‘family emergency’.
In reality, a court heard yesterday, the mother-of-two had driven to Merseyside 250 miles away as part of a cannabis plot that would have earned her £1,000.
Instead, Bowler was stopped on the M6 near Sandbach, Cheshire, on August 10 after a concerned member of the public contacted police to report a suspicious meeting involving two cars in the Lydiate area.
Police found 44 vacuum-packed bags containing a total of 20kg of cannabis in Bowler’s car, Liverpool Crown Court was told.
It heard she had turned to crime after her catering business had declined, leaving her struggling financially while caring for her two teenage children.
Kayleigh Bowler, 40, reached the quarter finals of MasterChef in 2025 – but turned to crime after her upmarket burger van business began to struggle
Chef turned drug courier Bowler, pictured outside court where she thanked a judge after being given a 20-month sentence, suspended for two years
The 40-year-old was seen wiping away tears as she was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years, telling the judge ‘Thank you, I appreciate it’ at the conclusion of the hearing.
Bowler was chosen from around 20,000 entrants to take part in the 2025 series, telling an interviewer it was ‘the start of something I’d always longed for’.
Despite fearing she would be ‘toast’ as her cooking was critiqued, she got as far as the quarter finals.
Viewers saw her serve up a ‘deconstructed’ pineapple, lemon and lime tart after running out of time to cook the case – but was praised by judges for her improvisation.
After returning to her catering van – based at a builders’ merchant – she took to social media to unveil a new menu featuring smash burgers and curried goat.
But on August 10, Bowler posted: ‘Bring a packed lunch kiddos, I am closed today. Off to collect more equipment for the van refurb.’
She added: ‘See you all tomorrow, bright and early at 7.30am.’
Two days later, on August 12, she again posted: ‘Back tomorrow. See you at 7.30am.’
Kayleigh Bowler (pictured) falsely told customers of her Bournemouth burger van that it was closed due to a ‘family emergency’ when in reality she was on a 500-mile cannabis round-trip
One customer responded to the post, saying they had travelled specifically to visit the van earlier in the week and had been ‘devastated’ after missing out on a Philly cheesesteak.
Bowler replied that she was sorry and said she was dealing with a ‘family emergency’.
She added: ‘I’m here today, tomorrow and all next week from Monday. Let me know it’s you when you come and I’ll sort you a discount for your wasted journey.’
But on the day she had told customers she was away dealing with the van refurbishment, Bowler had travelled to Merseyside to collect the cannabis before setting off on the return journey to Bournemouth.
The court previously heard that Bowler had agreed to transport the drugs in return for £1,000.
Prosecutor Iain Criddle said it was a ‘significant quantity’ of cannabis and argued that Bowler must have understood the scale of the criminal operation she was involved in.
However, the prosecution accepted that she was acting as a courier rather than someone making significant profits from the operation.
Bowler, who has no previous convictions, told the court through her barrister that her offending was ‘extremely out of character’.
Olivia Belle, defending, said her financial struggles meant she ‘regrettably felt she had no other option’ and described her as someone who was ‘not a sophisticated or experienced street dealer’.
The court heard she had since organised her financial debts and had distanced herself from the negative peer pressure which had led to her involvement in the offence.
Bowler admitted possessing cannabis with intent to supply.
District Judge Jack McGarva described the offence as ‘serious’, telling her that she had been entrusted with a ‘lot of money’s worth of drugs’.
He said drug couriers were a ‘vital cog’ in the supply chain and there was an argument for immediate custody to deter others from taking on such roles.
But he concluded that there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and that there was a real risk her children would go into care if she was sent to prison.
Wearing a black vest and leggings in the dock, Bowler was seen wiping away tears as she was handed 20 months in prison suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and up to 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
