A BUDDING young Droitwich Spa chef has been testing her culinary mettle to win a place in the regional final of a national cooking competition.

14-year-old Josie Ross from Dodderhill School had to keep her cool in the kitchen as she pitted her skills against other young cooks, some as old as 16.

Josie impressed the judges with a menu of carrot, spinach and cheese layer, followed by a desert of date and orange cake with orange syrup, winning a place in the regional final of the Springboard FutureChef competition, which will be held in February.

Josie said: “I’m so excited; I never thought I’d win.” Her mentor, Craig Miles, added: “Josie’s dish was full of flavour and I’m looking forward to mentoring her in the next round.”

The competition, which is now in its 15th year, challenges contestants to cook their way through a series of culinary challenges, giving them an insight into the industry.

Springboard’s programmes manager, Sophie Green, said: “The Springboard FutureChef initiative is the biggest and most successful national school cooking programme. It inspires students to learn to cook, introduces them and their schools to well respected industry chefs, offers the opportunity to win fantastic prizes and gain anything from a valuable life skill to an informed career path into the UK’s leisure and hospitality industry.”

The nation final of the competition is due to take place at Westminster Kingsway College in London at the end of March.