A Westcountry chef will cook up a storm in front of celebrity judges Raymond Blanc and Alain Roux for a chance to win a national prize.

Dez Turland, of the Saunton Sands Hotel in North Devon, joins nine other finalists in the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year competition.

He must beat off stiff competition from chefs at some of the most prestigious hotels in the country, including the Dorchester and the Ritz, if he is to claim the £2,500 cash prize.

Mr Turland said: "It's great to make it through to the final, but now the real hard work and practice starts.

"It's a big competition, with some great finalists, so you have to be on top of your game to be in with a chance."

The winner will join an elite list of previous champions, including Luke Tipping and Matt Cheal from the Michelin-starred Simpsons; Michelin-starred chefs Simon Hulstone and Richard Turner; and Adam Bennett, who recently represented the UK in the Bocuse d'Or.

The final, at Hotelympia on Monday, February 27 in front of a live audience, is being judged by seven revered chefs including Brian Turner, Raymond Blanc and Alain Roux.

Competitors have two hours to produce a three-course meal for two covers which Mr Turland is now working to perfect in the Saunton Sands kitchen. He is allowed to tweak the menu he cooked for the semi-final, which included hand-dived scallop and a monkfish drumstick. The dessert was a rhubarb and gingerbread cheesecake.

But instead of the pig cheek and Cornish coppa ham Wellington he created, he will have to use beef in the final. He will find out which cut he has to use today, when sponsors Aubrey Allen Butchers in Coventry give the chefs a butchery master-class.

Mr Turland will be taking Connor Jones from the Saunton Sands Hotel to the final as his commis chef. Connor has already competed in the Skills for Chefs Young Chef of the Year as well as the Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards in London.

Mr Turland said: "Not only does bringing Connor help me, it's a great experience for younger chefs."