CHEFS are being urged to serve up more local dishes on their menu.

A subsidised training scheme is to be launched to tell some 50 Kent and Medway chefs about the wide range of good locally-produced food and drink.

"Fresh Skills for Chefs" will help restaurants, cafes, hotels and other hospitality businesses to make the most of growing customer demand for locally sourced food and drink when eating out.

Kent chefs and restaurateurs are being invited to attend masterclasses and visit farms, producers and growers.

The scheme, which is aligned to NVQ Level Three, aims to boost their culinary skills as they develop new menu ideas and improve their knowledge what is available on their doorstep.

The initiative will be launched with a Chef's Tour day next month that will take them to Biddenden Vineyard, The Potato Shop, Tenterden, and Sissinghurst Castle.

Around 250 chefs from more than 100 businesses across the region are to attend the programme, funded by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and run by Tourism South East (TSE) in partnership with Thanet College and Produced in Kent.

The programme features sessions on Fur and Feathers, A Taste of Game, Butchery Skills and Special Diets.

Sue Gill, head of training at Tourism South East, said: "The South East has a reputation for great food, including our gastropubs, restaurants and hotels - and this scheme aims to help the hospitality sector step up another level.

"By giving more chefs the knowledge and skills to find, prepare and cook local ingredients from scratch, we can give customers more of what they want. We're also aiming to make a real impact on local economies and improve sustainability."

The scheme will run until October 2009 and is designed to be flexible enough to enable smaller firms to maintain their operations without losing their chefs for too long.

Ms Gill added: "The project won't just improve chefs' skills but it will help forge mutually beneficial and profitable partnerships between hospitality businesses and local food and drink producers and suppliers.

"Chefs and restaurant owners will discover what's available locally, and how to introduce it creatively and profitable onto their menus."