A CULINARY whizz overcame the odds to book his spot among six chefs battling it out to be named the best in the country.

Northcote chef Ryan Porter will travel to Westminster Kingsway College in London on Monday in a bid to earn the title of Roux Scholarship 2018.

The 24-year-old has set his sights on the big prize after an eventful semi-final in Birmingham.

He said: “It went really well and half way through the competition I was saying to myself I had got this and had a great chance.

“We were given a mystery basket which you had to create a dessert and I knew I could do it.”

But, with 20 minutes of the competition remaining and concentrating on his main course, he almost suffered a kitchen nightmare.

He said: “I left my post to go into what I thought was the fridge to find out that my fish was frozen.

“Brian Turner was great as he put it in a warm place and they gave me a little extra time to get my dish through. It is still a bit of a shock to be honest as I believe so much in myself and now that I am in the last six I want to win it.

“I thought I was going into the competition as an underdog but now I feel like I am the dark horse and if I can perform on the day like I know I can then I will be doing my best to win it.”

Ryan will arrive 30 minutes before the start of the competition and they will be given a recipe and ingredients for the main dish and he will be given three hours to prepare it.

He believes it is good news for the Langho-based Northcote Restaurant.

He said: “I am the least experienced of the chefs there and have only been doing it for two-and-a-half years. I am up against head chefs and sous chefs.

“Everyone in Northcote was well-chuffed and Lisa (Allen) was overwhelmed about how I did. She entered the competition twice and she felt like she had won it herself and was so happy for me.”

Ryan admitted it was great to be with some of the top chefs in the country in the semi-finals.

The judges include Alain Roux, Brian Turner CBE, from BBC’s Ready, Steady, Cook, and James Martin, from BBC Saturday Kitchen.

The winner receives £6,000 to support their career development and an invitation to cook and train under the supervision of a leading chef at a prestigious 3 star Michelin restaurant anywhere in the world for up to three months.

He said: “At the start when I walked in the room, I just thought I used to watch these chefs and now they are judging the way I cook. It was just amazing.”