An award-winning teen chef from Maidstone will fight for the winning title of 'Head Chef' in the grand final of TV cooking show, Step Up to the Plate.

Anya Goodman, who's 13, secured her place in the final by impressing tough food critics with her delicious, yet complex dishes in the CBBC competition.

The show, now in its second series, is hosted by Fred Sirieix and Allegra McEvedy and allows children to see if they have the skills needed to run their own restaurant.

Anya, who goes to Invicta Grammar School, has been part of the 'kitchen crew' throughout the process and was even crowned star performer for her mackerel dish on day one.

In last week's semi final, the Year 8 pupil cooked a main course of venison loin with saute potatoes and a squash pure, and a chocolate fondant dessert.

Critic Jimi Famurewa sampled the meal saying he was 'genuinely so impressed' and 'just wanted to keep eating' while fellow judge chef Ruth Hansom felt the meat was cooked to 'perfection' and said she was 'mind blown'.

Host Allegra was equally as pleased and picked Anya for the spot in tomorrow's final.

Speaking of her experience on the show, Anya said: "I cook quite a lot but I haven't done much of the filming side of things before so it was strange but really interesting.

"My friends didn’t know that I cooked before so they found it a bit surprising but they are enjoying watching it.

"My food tech teacher knows all about it and was really encouraging too."

Anya first started cooking from the age of six when she learned simple pasta dishes with her parents at home.

This ignited her passion for cooking and the 13-year-old now finesses a whole variety of dishes and particularly enjoys cooking fish.

In 2018, she became the runner up in the Young Cooks Competition before taking the champion title in last year's event in January.

In tomorrow's show she hopes to impress the likes of Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood and presenters Dick and Dom.

Watch Step Up to the Plate on Tuesday, April 20 at 5pm on CBBC.

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