LOCAL produce has helped a Dymock woman to be crowned as the South West Chef of the Year, in the "home cooking" category.

Nicola Youngs, of Knights Green, believes that the special ingredients sourced and purchased in the Ledbury and Dymock areas were the key to her culinary success.

She said: "It has been a truly fantastic experience and I still can't quite believe that I was lucky enough to win; but my thanks particularly must go to local cheesemaker, Charles Martell and Gladwin and James, the greengrocers on New Street, Ledbury, for the fantastic local produce which was the inspiration for the dish and which undoubtedly got me to the final.

"The competition was judged on the day by four outstanding chefs, including double Michelin star winner Michael Caines; so they came and chatted to us whilst we were cooking about what we were doing and how we sourced and chose our ingredients."

Mrs Youngs added: "I cooked a chicken ballotine with Stinking Bishop, Parma ham and nettles served with celeriac spaghetti, chicken bon bons, crispy chicken skin and a white wine reduction.

"For pudding I made a chocolate fondant with pears poached in vintage pear liqueur syrup and a Chantilly cream."

The two courses had to be produced in just two hours, during a cook off against four other finalists, at the Ashburton Cookery School in Devon.

Mrs Youngs also attributes her cooking talents to the fact that her mum, Penny Lewis, is "a really good cook".

Mrs Youngs added: "And I'm always cooking for my family and friends."

As well as lifting the title and the the trophy, Mrs Youngs also gained a trophy plate for the "best use of local produce".

Stinking Bishop, produced by Dymock cheesemaker, Charles Martell, is an very famous product, because it featured in the 2005 Wallace and Gromit movie, "The Curse of the Were Rabbit".

In the film, one whiff of the pungent pear-washed cheese was enough to bring Gromit back from the dead.

Mrs Youngs also had praised for the "really fantastic" celeriac which she sourced from the Ledbury greengrocers.