TALENTED young chef John Hooker will be aiming to put Tavistock and Chagford on the culinary map when he cooks up a feast on TV next month in The Great British Menu.

John, who is executive head chef at Brown's Hotel in Tavistock and also oversees the kitchen at its sister restaurant 22 Mill Street, Chagford, has successfully earned a place on the popular BBC2 show's fifth series. He will compete in the South West region against renowned chefs Nathan Outlaw and Henry Herbert.

Celebrating the wealth of delicious produce grown, reared and fished across the UK, The Great British Menu will see 23 of Britain's top chefs competing for the opportunity to cook a glorious banquet.

The guest list for the banquet will be made up of some of the best British food producers and suppliers from around the country.

John, 28, had to go through two selection processes, the second where he had to cook to camera: 'They wanted to see if I could cook and talk at the same time.

'I have done demonstrations before but it's a bit different with cameras being there

'There is quite a lot of pressure but so is a busy restaurant and I thrive under pressure. I enjoyed the experience and hope I have done myself and Tavistock proud.'

John, who joined the catering industry at 16, started at Brown's as a sous chef almost six years ago and has worked his way up. He spent 12 months at 22 Mill Street before returning to Brown's as executive head chef two years ago.

He was a finalist in the Restaurant Association's Young Chef of the Year competition in 2004 and the following year won the Great British Food Challenge with fellow chef Dave Jenkins at the NEC in Birmingham.

His reputation and that of the Tavistock and Chagford restaurants prompted the producers of the Great British Menu to contact John for an initial casting session.

'I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be cooking on TV but it shows that with hard work you can achieve things that you never thought possible.'

Co-owner of Brown's Phil Biggin said: 'John runs a really good team of chefs and the kitchen has progressed under his management. He is also a really nice guy and we are very proud of what he has achieved.'

The Great British Menu starts on BB2 on April 5 at 6.30pm with the South West heat expected to be the third programme in the series.