A BURY chef is set to wow judges with his innovative use of the garden pea in this year's Great British Pub and Restaurant Challenge.

Christopher Hull, resident chef at the Swan and Cemetery pub in Manchester Road, is one of eight regional finalists to take part in the cook-off at Thomas Danby College in Leeds, next Tuesday.

Chris, from Bolton, has worked at the Bury pub for one year and had previously cooked at Bolton Wanderers Football Club for two and a half years.

He said: "I have always been interested in cooking ever since I left school at 16. My dad was not a chef, but he was a good cook and I think that is where the interest came from. I enjoy impressing the public with my food. They want to eat and I want to cook."

Competitors will be asked to cook two dishes, a starter and main course, within 45 minutes using vegetables in an imaginative way. The dishes can use meat or fish and be of any nationality, but the one vital ingredient is the pea.

Chris (27) hopes his dishes of a pea guacamole for a starter and a pea souffle omelette for the main course will be enough to impress the judges.

The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000 as well as a weekend for two in Paris, a certificate and a plaque for the pub.

Chris added: "If I win, I will take my wife Christine to Paris. I have never entered a competition like this before but I am quite confident I've got what it takes."