LOCAL chef Lucy Dean will be flying the flag for West Somerset and Exmoor on Monday after winning through to the South West heat of the popular television cookery show, Britain's Best Dish.

The programme features the best of regional cooking and challenges amateur chefs to prepare their signature dishes using local ingredients for a panel of experts, including top chefs Ed Baines and John Burton Race and wine expert Jilly Goolden.

Lucy, aged 29, had to take part in untelevised auditions to secure her place in the regional round, which will be shown on ITV1 at 5pm on Monday (August 2).

She used duck eggs from her home at Aller Farm, Carhampton, flour from Dunster Mill and whortleberries from Exmoor to create her own Exmoor Queen of Puddings dessert for the programme.

But she was up against stiff competition from a twist on a traditional Devon cream tea.

Lucy said: "I was chuffed to bits to have got through to the actual programme using ingredients I was brought up with from Somerset and Exmoor.

"I've always campaigned for local produce, especially from Somerset, and it was great to be able to do my bit to support local producers."

Although currently working as a private chef, Lucy originally studied design at the Somerset College of Arts and Technology but after a stint working in London realised her real passion lay in the catering and food industry.

She spent six years working as a troubleshooter for pubs and restaurants before deciding to go it alone and focus on her own culinary skills.

Photo: Steve Guscott.