SHE may not be the ITV Chef of the Year, but Christina Bricknell-Webb of Percy's Restaurant at Virginstow is still tops with her customers who have been flooding her with e-mails and telephone calls since her first television appearance on Monday night.

Mrs Bricknell-Webb, who opened Percy's with her husband, Tony, three-and-a-half years ago, said although the panel of judges, which included a number of London-based chefs, were 'highly critical' of her dish the real judges were her customers who came back time after time.

'It is exceptionally soul destroying but I am not about to change what I do because of the criticism,' she said. 'Not every chef is going to be everyone's cup of tea.'

The Bricknell-Webbs have won numerous awards since opening, the latest of which was the West Country Cooking Award 2000 for the best restaurant in the West Country.

The chef qualified as one of the six finalists from more than the 2,500 British chefs to take part in the televised final of the first ITV Chef of the Year, hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan.

The competition was filmed in the kitchens of Westminster College.

Mrs Bricknell-Webb, who is new to competitive cooking and was appearing for the first time on television, said the final was very tough, especially when she was unable to rely on her home-grown produce.

'We had a selection of ingredients to choose from but it is very different from going down the garden, digging something up and coming back to the restaurant to try different flavours together,' she said.

'At home we grow everything we use in the kitchen or source it locally and I felt quite lost without the same quality of ingredients.'

The six cooks had an hour to produce a meal for the panel, all starting at half-hour intervals.

'It was very nerve-racking and extremely hot and stressful,' she said.

She added that she had not had the formal training of the other chefs and felt that her style of West Country cooking was not what the 'London' judges were looking for.

'I have had heaps of e-mails and phone calls from my customers since the programme appeared and as far as they are concerned I am still their chef of the year.'

Despite her disappointment the chef said it had been a fantastic experience.

'The film crew were absolutely great and it was fun working with the other chefs. The programme has also provided an opening for me in television.'

Mrs Bricknell-Webb has been approached to do some more TV work by the film company and she said she has a finger in a few pies which could lead to a TV programme in the future.

'It would have to be based in the West Country though,' she added.

Percy's will once again be taking part in the Financial Times lunches scheme from January 17 to February 13 where two courses can be purchased for £10.