THREE youngsters from Underwood took home the Teen Chef crown as part of the Newport Food Festival on Saturday.

Jack Cox, John Jones and Robbie Bowen won the accolade with their chicken tikka masala after battling through a qualifying competition and a semi-final in Newport before the weekend.

Dan Wright also made up part of the team in the previous two rounds but was unable to attend the final.

Meals, which had to be cooked in 45 minutes, were judged by chef and patron of the festival Hywel Jones, Ping Coombes and Karen Welch from Western Power Distribution – who sponsored the competition.

The winning team will now visit luxury hotel Lucknam Park near Bath, where Mr Jones is the executive chef, and spend time cooking in its kitchen.

The teams were tasked with cooking a meal for two to four people with a global theme, spending £7.50 or less. Among the finalists, a team from St Julian’s cooked an Italian pasta dish; another from Gaer cooked Thai fish cakes; and other finalists from Bettws cooked chicken chow mein.

Rebecca Jerman of Newport Youth Service, who helped co-ordinate the competition, said: “They all worked very well and the boys were surprised that they won.”