Crickhowell’s Gavin Kellett will be flying the flag for the Three Horseshoes Inn in Groesffordd when he takes part in the National Chef of Wales final next week.

The final takes place during the Welsh International Culinary Championships (WICC) which are being held at Grwp Llandrillo Menai, Rhos-on-Sea, from February 26-28.

The WICC comprises a wide range of competitions culminating with the Junior and National Chef of Wales finals on Thursday, February 28.

Gavin, 33, from The Three Horseshoes Inn, Groesffordd, Brecon, is a finalist in the senior final for a second time.

He will be joined in the final four cook-off by last year’s Junior Chef of Wales winner, Arron Tye, 23, and Tye’s Chester Grosvenor colleagues Sam Griffiths, 24 and Matthew Ramsdale, 26, who has twice been a runner-up.

The chefs will be given three hours to cook and serve up a three-course menu for four people, using mostly Welsh products. They must cook a vegan starter, a main course using two different cuts of Welsh Beef and a dessert including chocolate as the main ingredient.

The winner will be invited to a study tour hosted by Koppert Cress in the Netherlands and will receive a set of engraved F. Dick Knives and £250 worth of Churchill tableware.

The Junior Chef of Wales final will be contested by four chefs from establishments across Wales. Oliver Thompson, 20, from The Bull, Beaumaris and Thomas Martin, 22, a sous chef at The Brook Bistro, Whitchurch, Cardiff, who were also finalists last year, will get a second chance to win the coveted title.

Joining them will be Sion Hughes, 20, from Carden Park, Chester and Daniel Britton, 21, from Celtic Manor Resort, Newport.

The junior chefs will be given three hours to cook and serve up a three-course menu for four people using a majority of Welsh products. They must cook a starter suitable for vegans, a main course using Welsh Lamb and a dessert including Welsh honey.

Awaiting the winner is an all-expenses-paid visit to the Worldchefs Congress 2020 with the Culinary Association of Wales where he will be part of the Worldchefs Young Chefs Club.

In addition, he will be invited to a study tour hosted by Koppert Cress in the Netherlands, receive a set of engraved F. Dick Knives and be seeded through to the semi-finals of the Young National Chef of the Year contest organised by the Craft Guild of Chefs.

The WICC is a fertile hunting ground for the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW) which is now recruiting young chefs for the National and Junior Culinary Teams Wales to compete at the Culinary Olympics next year.

Colin Gray, chairman of the judges, said he was looking forward to seeing the dishes presented by the chefs. Following last month’s keenly contested semi-finals at Coleg Ystrad Mynach, he expects the chefs to raise the standards even higher in the final.

“The finalists produced top quality fine dining dishes in the semi-finals, which substantiated our view that Wales has some great chefs,” he said.

The WICC are organised by the CAW and main sponsor is Food and Drink Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government’s department representing the food and drink industry. Other sponsors include Castell Howell, Harlech Foods, Churchill, Koppert Cress, Dick Knives, Roller Grill, MCS Technical Products and Major.