A FORMER apprentice of a chef in Lane End is competing in MasterChef: The Professionals this week.
Steven Edwards, 26, is one of four chefs battling it out on BBC2 each evening hoping to be crowned this year's champion.
He is a former apprentice of Lane End Conference Centre’s head chef Mike Day.
He was mentored by Mike at the Corus Hotels Chefs’ School in 2003.
Mike recognised Steven’s talent when he selected him for an exclusive chef training programme ten years ago.
Mike said: "I first encountered Steven when I was head chef at Burnham Beeches Hotel.
"Steven applied to be an apprentice as part of a new nationwide training initiative to find promising trainee chefs.
"The first training programme of its kind, there were a huge number of applicants. Each head chef could choose the apprentice that they wanted to work with and without question Steven showed the most passion and enthusiasm so I picked him.
"Steven’s potential to produce complex, delicious dishes was evident from the start and it’s amazing to see him in the MasterChef final. I am rooting for him to take the overall title."
The winner will be announced on Thursday.
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