ASPIRING chefs cooked up a storm to land a spot in the area heats of a national cooking competition.

Sixteen Year 9 students at West Hatch High School in Chigwell donned their aprons to compete in the Rotary Young Chef competition.

Pupils were asked to cook a healthy one-course meal for two in 90 minutes, using ingredients costing a maximum of £6.

Talented 13-year-old Billy Harris took the title, cooking a chicken breast with sweet potato purée, green beans and mustard sauce.

Second place went to Kameron Grant, also 13, for his hot and spicy salmon.

Head of design and technology Hazel Barnard said: "We were impressed with the level of enthusiasm and hard work that the pupils exhibited.

"The overall standard of work was high this year and it was a difficult task to select our winner and runner-up."

Billy and Kameron will both take part in the area semi-final in January, where the pair will compete against star cooks from other local schools.