Excitement is building for the Young Cooks contest with just over 48 hours left for children and teenagers to create and share their signature dishes.

Wannabe chefs have until midnight on Wednesday, November 7 to submit entries for the annual competition – and stake their claim to the champion’s trophy and a share of £500.

Entrants simply prepare one or two dishes - depending on competition category - and upload a photograph of the meal plus recipe details to the Young Cooks website.

Youngsters can have help from parents, guardians or teachers in completing the online entry form – while entrants for the Family category can also have the help of an adult to make the food.

The contest is run by the KM Charity Team to encourage young people to pay more attention to their food choices and learn how to prepare tasty and nutritious meals to a budget.

A range of organisations are supporting the event and hoping to entice more youngsters into the kitchen to gain confidence in their abilities.

Gary Maryan, of the Southern Co-operative, said: “Cooking is a vital life skill so competitions like Young Cooks are an excellent way to excite young people into getting creative in the kitchen.”

Mr Maryan added he was proud to be part of a contest which he believes will help produce “good young cooks for the future.”

Joining Mr Maryan on the judging panel are representatives from Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Whole School Meals, Macknade Fine Foods, Golding Vision (part of Golding Homes), Orbit, The Dog at Wingham, Chequers Kitchen Cookery School, Licensing Consultancy Services, Brakes, and Kent Catering Service.

The judges will gather this Thursday morning to read through all the entries and decide which young chefs have earned a place in the final.

Finalists will compete at a thrilling MasterChef-style event where they will prepare their menus for the judges using the professional catering facilities at East Kent College.

The overall Young Cooks champion will receive the top prize of £200. Fifty pounds will go to the winning Primary School pupil and £150 will be awarded to the top Secondary School pupil. The Family category winner will take home £100.

For more information, including viewing previous entries, or submitting an entry, visit www.YoungCooks.org.uk before midnight on Wednesday, November 7.