Chef Charlie Hodson is making his third appearance at the Sausage Roll Off in London

On your marks, get set, roll off!

This Wednesday (January 30) two chefs from Norfolk are set to go head-to-head representing the county in the hotly contested Sausage Roll Off.

Charlie Hodson, executive head chef of Norwich's Bourgee, is to face his friend and new sausage roll nemesis Simon Hunter Marsh at the annual event, held at the Red Lion in Barnes, London.

It's the third time Charlie's entered the competition, which usually attracts around 20 contestantsfrom across the UK. In 2018 he took second place with The Jess, a roll named in honour of Norfolk Paralympic athlete Jessica-Jane Applegate, while in 2017 he took the gold himself with The Nelson sausage roll.

Speaking before the cook-off, where all chefs make their entry from scratch for a panel of expert judges, Charlie revealed he's never made his roll before and will essentially 'wing it' on the day, relying on the quality of his ingredients to craft his bake, which is going to form part of the new Bourgee afternoon tea menu upon his return.

True to form, local produce is high on the agenda for the chef, whose ingredients are all from within a 28 mile radius of Norwich. 'I've got Nova Farina pea flour, Rocketship sauce and Bace Foods. There's always something from The Fruit Pig in mine, and this year I've included meat from four butchers including Archer's. I've managed to stretch Wildcraft beer with Boudicca gin to make a syrup which will go into the pork mince so you'll get that hoppiness with some juniper notes. It'll definitely be something a bit different. I can't wait!'

Charlie's hoping lots of his producer pals will join him down at the competition, which has chosen Hospitality Action UK as its charity of the year.

Keep an eye on the hashtag #rolloff to see what happens on the day.