PROUD mum Sandra Clement will be anxiously watching BBC2's The Restaurant on Wednesday, after her son Russell reached the final.

Last night viewers watched Russell and his partner Michele win a place in the last episode.

Russell's mother Sandra lives in Woolacombe and is the headteacher at West Down Primary School near Ilfracombe.

Russell is a former Woolacombe Primary School and Ilfracombe College pupil.

And Russell and Michele are still in the dark about who has won the series, as the BBC have filmed two possible endings.

Russell said: "We've been going out of our minds. Filming finished back in August, and still only one man knows who's won, and that's Raymond."

When filming finished Russell said the first thing he and Michele did was head west.

He said: "Straight after filming finished we came down to chill out at home in Woolacombe, and stayed with the folks. We live right near to the beach, so it was lovely, even though it did rain everyday."

Russell, who is a keen surfer, was born in Braunton, and moved to Woolacombe aged nine.

He said: "And like every kid growing up in Woolacombe you earn your keep working in the restaurants, and I got into food from there."

Russell and Michele met six years ago when Russell was the sous chef at the Boardwalk restaurant on the Esplanade, and Michele was down for the summer working at The Mill at Spreacombe.

Russell said: "Michele had been down every summer since she was a kid, knew loads of my friends, and it was a bit odd that I hadn't met her, because it's so small you think you know everyone, but we've been inseparable ever since."

Both Michele and Russell have a background in art, and studied it at University.

Russell said: "Having artistic flair does give you a good eye, and it's not just with the food, it's with everything."

As well as his restaurant work and artistic background, Russell also sites his mother's and gran's influence as significant.

He said: "My gran, Rita, who's 82 lives with us and loves to cook, as does my mum, they're both really good at baking, as well as doing what I call classics, warm-pot meals like stew, lasagna, just great house food— and we always ate round a table together, we were never a TV dinner family."

On Wednesday Russell's mum will watch as her 30-year-old son competes for the coveted prize: opening a restaurant with top chef Raymond Blanc in 2009.

Mrs Clement, 57, who lives in Woolacombe with husband Chris, 59, said: "We're incredibly proud of him. I have to watch the programme twice as I get so emotional the first time round I don't really take it in."

The final episode will see Russell and Michele cater for guests on the Orient Express, something Russell said was an amazing experience.

During the seven-week series viewers have seen Michele and Russell open and run a restaurant called The Cheerful Soul.

The couple live in Colchester where they run a small buffet business.

Russell is the chef, writing menus, preparing food and keeping financial records while Michele liaises with the clients, helps in the kitchen and serves on the night.

After setting up their business with £80 they reached a turnover of £35,000 in their first year, according to the BBC's website.

Russell is an experienced chef and has worked in a restaurant since the age of 12.

In the final episode Russell and Michele will in an all-Devon final, up against Exeter friends James Knight-Pacheco and Alasdair Hooper.

If Russell and Michelle win the series they will be following in the footsteps of Jane and Jeremy Hooper, from Chivenor.

They won the reality series last year and opened their own business Eight at the Thatch months later.

But they stepped down after only six months running the Oxfordshire gastro-pub.

Before the series Mr Hooper worked as a Royal Marines chef while Mrs Hooper was a trainee teacher.

Russell said: "We're really good friends with the Exeter lads, and the couple that won it last year were from North Devon as well, maybe we breed the best chefs in the Westcountry."

● The final of The Restaurant is at 8pm on Wednesday, October 29.