BURNLEY'S Curry King Champion will be turning up the heat to battle against the regions finest chef's for a chance to win a national accolade.

Ibrahim Ali, who works at Rossendale Road's Usha Indian Restaurant, will be competing against other talented Asian cooks from across the region in a bid to become the North West Curry Chef of the Year 2003.

The Food Standards Agency and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health event takes place at the University of Salford on Wednesday. The winner of the North West final will go on to take part in the National Grand Final at the Good Food Show at the NEC, in Birmingham, on November 26, with a chance to win £3,000 in prize money and gain the prestige of being crowned Curry Chef of the Year.

The competition promises to showcase the most dazzling display of ethnic culinary skills in the region.

The nine finalists, winners from their local heats, all work in restaurants across the North West.

Ibrahim will be hoping to impress judges with one of his unique recipe's as he compete's against contenders from Manchester, Cheshire, Lancaster, Rochdale and Stockport.

Ibrahim, 27, said: "It's going to be a tough competition but I will give it my best shot and hopefully the judges will be impressed with my dishes.

"There are lots of secrets to creating the perfect curry but one technique is to treat it with tender loving care and take time to cook the meat.

"I learnt my cooking skills from my older brother, Jaifor, who is a superb cook, he taught me the art to creating a fine curry."

As well as cooking up some red-hot dishes to impress the judges, the chefs must also demonstrate an excellent awareness of food hygiene and safety in the kitchen. Before being allowed to take part in the competition, all the chefs had to pass an inspection of their restaurant's premises by a local environmental health officer.

The competition allows chefs just one hour to prepare a curry dish, a side dish and rice or bread in front of a panel of judges.

Marks are awarded for taste, texture, aroma and appearance, with bonus points for culinary skills, originality, presentation and good hygiene awareness. The competition winner will be presented with a trophy.