A RENOWNED head chef at a Woodstock eatery will be hoping for third time lucky in a national cookery competition shown on TV tonight.

Dominic Chapman, who is the top cook at The Feathers in Market Street, will appear on BBC2’s The Great British Menu for the third time in the competition’s history.

He will be squaring off against newcomers Tom Brown and Andy Clatworthy each tasked with cooking a starter dish for the judges’ scrutiny.

Speaking of his selection for the competition Mr Chapman said: “I love it. It’s a real rollercoaster.

“The competition is really high pressured but it is also fun and it takes you out of the kitchen; the everyday kitchen, to a hot box and a pressured environment.

“It’s really exciting.”

The contest features 24 of the UK’s top chefs competing for the chance to cook at a prestigious Taste of Summer banquet celebrating 140 years of the Wimbledon Championships.

The chefs are tasked with creating outstanding dishes to capture ‘a taste of summer’ each week. Oxfordshire’ chef Prue Leith, from Chastleton Glebe near Chipping Norton, was a judge on the show until being replaced to head over to Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off.

The 43-year old chef said that the greatest appeal of the show for him was is in part due to the introduction of new chefs and discovering new, undiscovered talent.

He added: “It is always different when I come to this competition, I really enjoy it.

“It’s all about being chefs together and we have a good comradery. We don’t do these programmes because we want to be film stars.

“We have to know what we are doing or we will end up looking very, very silly.”

Balancing his duties at The Feathers Dominic is also the owner of The Beehive in White Waltham, Berkshire, continuing a family tradition after his parents who ran the acclaimed Castle Hotel in Taunton for more than 60 years.

The married father of two children added: “At The Feathers we are producing a seasonal menu, all fresh food, and there is a really good team there.

“Cooking is definitely a passion for me. When you get to counting money and doing spreadsheets you start falling asleep. For me the food is the passion, it’s what I do.

“I am lucky enough to have found a job I absolutely love, we get inspired by the ingredients.”

The show, which is in its 12th series,is on at 7.30pm with a repeat running on Saturday May 13 at midday. The episode, South West Starter, will include a mystery judge for the regional heat.