TOP TV chef James Martin last week awarded a Tavistock teenager third place in the Red Tractor beef and lamb Mmmake it with Mince Challenge 2011 South West regional heats.

The competition saw budding young chefs from the local area go head-to-head for the chance to be named regional winner. Contestants were judged for their recipe development and culinary skills as part of this prestigious cooking contest.

Hundreds of entries were received for this year's competition and 47 youngsters from across the country were selected to represent their region at six cook-off events judged by James.

During the tense South West heat each student had just one hour to prepare, cook and plate-up their own original recipe featuring beef or lamb mince.

Beth Benyon, 14, was highly commended in third place after she fought it out against seven other finalists.

Beth, a student at St Joseph's School, Launceston, impressed the judges with her moussaka stuffed choux buns on a bed of spinach with lemon glazed carrots. Points were scored for originality, nutrition and presentation.

James Martin said: 'The standard of entries this year was extremely high and Beth has done exceptionally well to achieve third place. Her recipe was innovative, nutritious and well presented – but most importantly, it tasted great! A big well done to everyone who took part — it was clear that everyone worked really hard.

'It is now more important than ever before to inspire young people to cook properly and this Challenge is a perfect platform for them to learn about food, cooking and nutrition. I hope Beth's success will encourage more young people from the local area to get cooking and try out new and different recipes.'

Denise Spencer-Walker, food advisor for Red Tractor beef and lamb, said: 'We received hundreds of inventive and exciting recipe ideas this year, so whittling them down to just 47 regional finalists was hard work.

'Beth's enthusiasm for good food really shone through and I'm sure they will go onto achieve great culinary success in the future.

'I hope that all the students who entered will be inspired to make cooking a bigger part of their day-to-day lives both now and in the future.'

The Red Tractor beef and lamb Mmmake it with Mince Challenge is a cookery competition for 11-16 year-olds who are passionate about food or pursuing a career in the catering industry.

The Challenge was introduced to engage, educate and inspire students to get hands-on cooking experience.

Entrants were asked to submit their own original, nutritious and creative recipes using beef or lamb mince, together with a photograph of the finished dish.

Students were also asked to supply a cooking method, time plan and cost breakdown within a strict budget of under £10.