I think with most competitors on the show, you don’t enter to win, you enter because you love cooking.  I remember watching the show a few years ago, before I decided to enter.  There were dishes being cooked that seemed far better than I could ever do, and then there others that made you think – “Yes, I could do better than that”.  If this is how you feel and you love cooking, then apply immediately, it is an experience you will never forget.  Just filling in the application form gives you that tingling feeling of "I might get to be on the tele!" It was my wife Jayne who secretly send away for the application form and started the whole thing off.

So what are the stages you have to go through.

First off is the application form.  Lots of questions about yourself, a few on food and of course the menu. This has to be 3 courses, for 4 people, cooked in 2.5 hours - yes that is all the time you get – with a budget of £35.  Unless you have caviar, truffles and lobster on the menu, the budget is plenty.  My average was about £25. You do need to give the menu a fair bit of thought.  Balance and taste are key. You don’t have to slave for hours in a hot kitchen perfecting the recipes before you send in the form – that comes later – all you need to do is come up with a menu that “sounds” nice. But be warned the menu must be cooked in 2.5 hrs.  Don’t do what I did the first time, describe a dish, only to find upon further investigation that the recipe said - freeze overnight!!

A few thousand people send in application forms and out of these the producers pick 16 people from each of the 9 regions around the UK.  These groups of 16 then go and compete in a non-televised “Cook-off”.  This involves going to a local catering college and cooking the main and dessert courses from their menu.  From each group they select 3 people to enter the televised rounds – 1st round, semi-final and final.

My winning menu was:

If you are wondering what Peanut Butter Mousse tastes like, look here for a simplified version of the recipe.