The judges of Masterchef-style competition Young Cooks gathered for a special tasting session as they stepped up their efforts to find the best young kitchen talent in the region.

There is now less than two months in which to submit entries for the competition, which is open to young people aged 6 to 19 from across the south-east.

Food retailer Macknade hosted the tasting session for its fellow Young Cooks judging organisations at its food hall in Faversham.

Macknade marketing manager Rosie Collins said the business strived to showcase “quality, local produce”, and hoped to see children using such ingredients in the kitchen.

She said: “We’re interested to be a part of Young Cooks so we can encourage kids to get their entries in, come in and buy some really great ingredients and cook with them.”

Children and families are invited to submit recipe ideas, with shortlisted finalists being invited to cook their recipes at a live Masterchef-style event at Broadstairs College in November.

The winners will share £500 in prize money, with separate primary-school, family, secondary-school and overall winners being announced.

And the overall winner will cook their recipe at a special VIP lunch at The Dog at Wingham in January.

The Dog at Wingham’s Liane Gladden said: “Young Cooks is a really exciting opportunity and competition for us to be involved in.

“For us as a company, we are looking for talent, future chefs, and we’re really excited to see what dishes they come up with.”

Young Cooks is organised by the KM Charity Team. Besides Macknade, Broadstairs College and The Dog at Wingham, the competition’s judges and supporters are Principals by CH & Co Group, SE Medical, Chequers Kitchen, Brakes, Golding Homes, Three R's Teacher Recruitment, Southern Co-operative, Kent Catering Services, Whole School Meals and Taylor Meats.

The deadline for entries is November 7. Find out more at www.youngcooks.org.uk, and watch a video about the Macknade’s tasting event at here: