A 15-year-old north Suffolk pupil has cooked up a storm in the kitchen to make it through to the national final of the Future Chef competition 2014.

Henry Matthews, a Year 10 GCSE food technology student at Bungay High School, made it through the school final, local final and regional final to earn a place in the national final at Westminster Kingsway College in London in March, where he will go head to head with winners from 11 other regions.

The competition brings together young, aspiring chefs to showcase their cooking skills and in the final round Henry will be given a basket of ingredients to prepare and cook a hot main course and desert for three people. Henry, who has been working with mentor James Buckley, executive chef for the Genuine Dining Company, said: 'When I entered the competition I just thought I would see how the first round goes and take it from there.

'It has been a massive experience. James has taught me so many new skills and has been there to guide me.

'I do feel very proud of what I have achieved and feel like I have set the standard for Bungay pupils for years to come.'

Henry's winning menu at the regional final included pork tenderloin stuffed with apple sauce and black pudding wrapped in Suffolk beer cured bacon, calvados cream foam sauce, Swiss chard leaf parcels and black forest baked Alaska.

Henry added: 'I just experiment and think about different things I like and then put them together to see what works. I don't know what level I want to take my cooking to but now I know I enjoy it becoming a chef is definitely an option.'

Henry has been awarded a personalised set of chef whites and a set of knives for his success in the competition so far, having made it through his school final, which was judged by Mark Hougham from The Castle Inn, Bungay, the local final at Norwich City College and the regional final at Bedford College. The Future Chef competition is run by The Springboard Charity to help young people aged 12 to 16 learn to cook and think about careers in hospitality.