Torquay chef makes it to regional finals of 'UK's most prestigious cooking comp'

They will also receive a cash prize as well as a bespoke Roux Scholarship programme or an invitation to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a three-star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world.

This year, 14 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition, hailing from establishments as far afield as Scotland and Cornwall.

Jordan Randerson works at the Elephant in Torquay, the only Michelin Star restaurant currently in the Bay. Jordan is one of the 14 entering the competition for the first time.

He said: “I’ve actually worked for three Rue Scholars in the past, and each one has told me how good the competition is and how much of an opportunity it is.

“The winners become part of an elite group of chefs in the UK. There are only 39 of them right now so becoming the 40th in the anniversary year would be unreal.

“It’s the biggest cooking competition in the UK, so it’s quite an achievement to get down to the last 18 and it doesn’t get any easier from here.”

The 18 chefs and two reserves were selected from their written recipes that had to use one short loin of pork, two pork kidneys, crackling and sweet potatoes.

They were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe Judging Day last month.

The 18 finalists will compete in two regional finals, which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 7th March at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing.

At the regional final, competitors will have 2½ hrs to cook their dish, along with a dessert from a mystery box of ingredients given to them on the day.

Jordan described his dish: “What I’ve done is a miso mustard glazed pork loin. On top, I’ve made a crackling crumb, some lovely spring asparagus coming in with wild garlic. With the sweet potato, I’ve made a warm salad with bits of the kidney, asparagus, wild garlic and crispy sweet potato on top.

“With the kidney, I’ve prepped it as you would with a squid which I think works well. I’ve done a nice pork cream as well as a sweet potato and chardonnay foam.”

He added: “I haven’t made it too technical so I have ample time for me to figure out a nice dessert at the same time and not sell myself short on that part of the challenge.”