GAZETTE & HERALD: A young chef from Lucknam Park Hotel, Colerne, won third prize in the waiting section of the national finals of the Young Chef Young Waiter contest this week.

The Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP presented Franco Caruso, 23, with his prize at a dinner in the House of Commons, hosted by the Minister for Sport and Tourism, in front of an audience of top names in the hospitality industry.

The titles Young Chef and Young Waiter 2004 went to London based Nathan Green of Thyme and Nicolas Mori of the Greenhouse respectively.

Mr Caruso has worked as junior sous chef at Lucknam since March.

He was brought up in Scotland, but his family ties go back to Calabria in Italy. His father runs a brasserie and pizzeria, where Mr Caruso had his first job.

After leaving school he worked in Scotland. Commenting on his success in the competition, Mr Caruso said: "This competition is all about teamwork and I believe strongly that waiters are the eyes and ears of the chefs.

"They are in the front line of food and I would like to thank my competition partner Leah Fellstad, who also took third prize - we obviously made a good team!"

The Young Chef and Young Waiter 2004 each win £2,000 cash and a week's study trip to Cuba. Third prize winners will receive £500 cash plus £500 worth of catering equipment from Hansens.

The competition, now in its 20th year, is organised by the Restaurant Association in partnership with American Express and the Savoy Educational Trust, the hospitality industry's leading independent charitable trust.

The competition aims to encourage young people by giving them a platform to demonstrate their cooking and waiting skills.

It is open to all professional chefs and waiters 25 and under on December 31, working full-time in any sector of the hospitality industry.

The 16 finalists were selected from regional heats, which took place in Oxford and St Helens a month ago, and as part of their prize they have all been taken to France by Champagne Louis Roederer and given the chance to visit the company's private estate and cellars in Reims.

The national finals took place on Tuesday at Westminster Kingsway College in front of a panel of expert judges.

Eight young waiters served amuse-bouche and then three course meals cooked by the eight chef finalists, and demonstrated their service expertise to industry luminaries and media judges.

Annie Schwab, MBE, of Winteringham Fields and chef Philip Howard of The Square, chairs of the panels of judges, said the standard was consistently high.