A team of three trainee chefs have cooked up a storm taking the top prize in the Cook and Serve contest.

The trio fought off competition from six other teams of students managing to impress a panel of expert judges with their teamwork skills.

The cook-off was held at Rouge Restaurant which is based at Redbridge College, Little Heath, Barley Lane.

Ryan Easton, 19, Albert Gelderbloem and Scott Cullen both 18, planned and executed the winning menu.

Albert said: “We enjoyed working together and were able to bounce ideas off one another before settling on our final menu. It was great working with Ryan and Scott. I’m so pleased we were able to finish in first place. ”

They cooked pan-fried plaice with a white wine sauce alongside hand-made potato rosti for their winning dish yesterday.

Justin McNamara, who organised the event, said: “The technique and teamwork demonstrated by each of these three learners was brilliant and their menu was constructed incredibly well, with great tastes, flavours and colour.”