IT was success on a plate and a surprise champagne celebration for Okehampton trainee chef Andrew Lester recently.

He received a silver plaque after winning in the prestigious ?British Meat Chef of the Year? competition ? beating all opposition to take first place in the student chef category.

?I?m so pleased, I can hardly describe how pleased I am,? said Andrew, 17, who just seven months ago was the first student to enrol at Percy?s Academy of Culinary Excellence at Jacobstowe.

?I couldn?t believe it when I got into the finals. I knew I had a chance of winning ? but everyone else was older than me and in their second or third year at college so they had an excellent head start.?

Andrew said everything on the plate was produced locally and most of it came from Percy?s Country Hotel and Restaurant.

He praised his teacher Tina Bricknell-Webb, who runs Percy?s with her husband, Tony.

?It is a very broad based learning. There is never anything that gets boring.?

On his way back from the competition with Tina, Andrew stopped off at Exeter to tell his father, James Lester, the good news.

When he got back to Percy?s his mother Jenny and stepfather Phil Platt surprised him with a bottle of champagne.

For the winning dish, prepared at the British Meat headquarters at Milton Keynes, Andrew had to prepare his recipe of roast loin of home-reared lamb from scratch.

He impressed the judges with both the tenderness and subtle taste of the organically reared lamb.

As well as the engraved plaque, Andrew received a framed certificate, £500 and a complete set of high quality Sabatier knives.

Percy?s marketing manager Ross Hayward said Andrew?s success was the message the academy wanted to send out.

?They come to us and we can deliver what we promise. In a short space of time from leaving Okehampton College he has learned a tremendous amount.?

Mr Hayward said Percy?s Academy aimed to give their trainee chefs a rounded and enlightening introduction to the career.

?We are setting out to train young people ? but also to change the perception of the industry. We want to involve the students in every aspect. The industry needs to do something to attract and retain staff ? and that is what we are trying to do.?

Andrew will travel to London on March 31 where his dish will be judged against the winners of the other six categories, which include pub chef and international chef of the year.

?I?d like to own my own place eventually. But first I?d like to go travelling to see different types of food and the way it is prepared,? he said.