Glittering with pride

Alongside four other aspiring 18-25 year old finalists, Chris Rawlinson, the chef and owner of The Red Cat in Whittle-Le-Woods, Chorley, was challenged with cooking up a winning three course meal for two using local North West produce costing up to £25, clinching the heat with £7.27 to spare. He impressed judges with his Reg Johnson's wood pigeon ballontine with haggis tortellini and fried quails egg for starters, West Coast turbot with saffron risotto, parmesan tuille, cauliflower beignets, pickled cauliflower and Watt's Farm micro herbs for mains, and quartet of rhubarb, crumble, trifle, carpaccio and lavender tarte tatin, to finish up. Rawlinson, who has worked in London and Sydney, has been waiting seven years to make the North West Young Chef final, first entering at 16, and intends to give it his all against county winners from Cumbria, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Lancashire in May's showdown. He commented: "I absolutely love competitions and they are a great opportunity to demonstrate your skills as everything has to be made from scratch. said Chris. "Even better if you win! "It was the buzz of the kitchen when I first stepped into a proper catering unit in my first job at Heathcotes in Manchester that got me hooked on the business. I was fascinated by the way the head chef had such control on that first day. After this initial buzz, the food took over and I began to love the intensity of creating amazing dishes under pressure." The judging panel included competition organiser and British Masterchef Brian Mellor (Chef 'n' Farmer, Wirral), Aiden Byrne (The Church Green, Lymm) – who worked under Tom Aiken at his Chelsea restaurant and at the age of 22, was the youngest chef to receive a Michelin Star - and Nigel Crane, chef and managing director of competition sponsor, Essential Cuisine, based in Cheshire. Rawlinson added: "I used a lot of regional food on my menus which is back in fashion and applied the same philosophy to my cook off dish," said Chris."I have close relationships with my butcher, greengrocer etc, which means my menus are always up to date. For example, I'll know if there will be a delay on a certain crop due to bad weather." North West Young Chef aims to give chefs the opportunity to increase their chances of achieving long term goals, demonstrate skills to a professional audience and get invaluable feedback. Judge Nigel Crane said: "It not only gives chefs the chance to experience the thrill of competing, but the chance to learn from peers and give employers something to think about when they look at a CV. It's a competitive industry and accolades such as this play a big part in shaping an aspiring chef's future. We wish Chris all the best in the final."