Oaklands and St Albans Food and Drink Festival have teamed up to search for the next Young Chef of the Year.

The competition will give young people in Years 9, 10 and 11 the chance to show off their cooking skills and wow a panel of industry experts.

This year’s panel has been confirmed as Great British Bake Off semi-finalist and pudding extraordinaire Johnny Shepherd, Andrei Lussmann, founder and director of Lussmanns Fish and Grill restaurants and local food writer and critic Becky Alexander.

To enter, competitors must submit a starter, main dish or dessert recipe, including details of how the dish is made and the ingredients used to make it.

A shortlist of ten chefs will be drawn up for each category, who will then battle it out in a live cook-off in front of the judging panel on Saturday, February 7.

Entries must be in before Friday,January 30. Download an application form at oaklands.ac.uk/whats-happening/events/128/young-chef-of-the-year-competition-2015 and completed forms should be returned to Khaled Hassan, Oaklands College, Hatfield Road, St Albans, Herts, AL4 0JA.