CATERING students will be hoping to whisk up a treat for a celebrity chef in a national competition.

Teenagers on the Skills+ programme at Darlington College have entered a contest judged by television chef Gary Rhodes.

The students, who are on vocational courses at the college, have researched and made their own recipes.

They were set the challenge of cooking a two-course meal which costs less than £15.

Their recipes for a main course and desert will be sent to Mr Rhodes. The best entrants will be invited to Thanet College, in Kent, for the Junior Chef of the Year challenge, with the winners taken to France for a two-day culinary trip. Cash prizes of £150 and £300 will also go to the winners' college or school.