A school chef is in with a chance of culinary glory after being selected for a national competition.

Cheryl Humphries narrowly missed out on taking the regional crown after serving up a Chinese treat for judges before Christmas but the ISS cook has been chosen as a wildcard for the national competiton.

She was handed an award for her second place finish at the South East of England Final of the School Chef of the Year competition which took place in St Albans in November.

The Cranbrook-based chef served up a steamed pork bun, sesame noodles and sweet and sour cucumber as well as a cucumber salad.

Judges praised Cheryl's dishes and she was told she had come so close to beating the rest of the competitors.

However, she has been picked as one of two wildcards to attend the national Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA) final on March 7 in Stratford Upon Avon.

"I cook a lot of street foods to keep up with the trends and incorporating all the products and ingredients into our menus.

"Our school is quite a small one and the kids love the grab and go stuff where they can walk off with the food."

Cheryl admitted children are keen to try new flavours and foods thanks to the introduction of Nandos and Wagamama on the high street, making her job even more exciting.

She said: "Having healthier food has given us a chance to showcase different types of food from different walks of life.

"Children are more interested in trying different foods now."

The National Final is a challenging live competition in which the talented school chefs have to demonstrate their skill and expertise to create their dishes.

Under the time pressure, they must maintain their composure, whilst showing their culinary prowess and techniques to meet all of the testing judging criteria.

Cheryl is set to cook her steamed pork bun, sesame noodles and sweet and sour cucumber in the final.