Each of the catering colleges in the region nominated a student champion to cook two complementary dishes for a panel of food industry experts. The title of Kent Cooks Professionals 2016 was won by Byron Kirk from Teynham, a student at the Broadstairs campus of East Kent College. Paul Brooks of Canterbury College came second and Chloe McCoy of North Kent College third.

The competitors had two-and-a-half hours to prepare their dishes, which ranged from a traditional beef stew to a Canterbury apple, lemon and thyme tart. The winning dishes from the champion were Kentish Belly of pork with sea bass, smoked mashed potatoes and autumnal vegetables, followed by lemon tart with seasonal fruit.

Runners up in the competition were Christopher Harradine from East Kent College and Johnny Finch from Entrees Catering School. Judges were incredibly impressed with all the student chefs and stressed how close the competition was.

Jim Ratchford from Licensing Consulting Services said: "This is the first time I've been involved with Kent Cooks Professionals and I'm really excited. The variety of dishes being created is brilliant!"

Judges were also excited by the use of local produce in dishes created for the event. Laura Bounds of Kentish Oils said: "It's all looking great so far. I'm really excited to see some of the up and coming chefs working in the kitchen and great to see them using local produce and British ingredients."

Darren Smith from NFU Mutual echoed this, saying: "It's nice to see local produce go from field to plate."

Judges were Darren Smith, NFU Mutual; Suzanne Howe, Suzanne Howe Communications; Pieter van Zyl, Chequers Cookery School; Laura Bounds, Kentish Oils; David Hoseason, Abbots Barton Hotel; Jim Ratchford, Licensing Consulting Services; Andrew Rook, JC Rook and Sons; and Darren Tutt, FFK Catering.

In two weeks time, the schools version of Kent Cooks will take place with 13 children and families competing. To find out more, visit www.kmcharityteam.co.uk or sign up to the KM Charity Link e-newsletter.