A CHEF talent-spotted as a teenager and later chosen to cook for Sir Paul McCartney has been shortlisted for a top award.

Jamie Parker-Evans was entered by his school into a cookery competition to find a future star chef of Wales.

Aged 14 he reached the Wales finals of the contest where he was pipped to the post by just half a point.

However, so impressed was the training manager at five-star Celtic Manor Resort Hotel, in Newport, that he immediately offered him an apprenticeship.

Mr Parker-Evans said: “A week after I finished school I was working at Celtic Manor in a team which included some of the best chefs in Britain. I couldn’t have wished for a better start.”

He was later selected to cook for music superstar Sir Paul McCartney and his family when they stayed in the hotel’s presidential suite for a weekend.

He eventually decided to broaden his skills by working abroad, including at a beach hotel in Corsica and an alpine ski resort in Tignes, France.

Now 33, Mr Parker-Evans is head chef at Capel Grange Nursing Home, Newport.

The home’s owners Linc Cymru have recommended him for a top accolade at the 2022 Wales Care Awards.

Supported by lead sponsor Ontex UK, and organised by care industry champions Care Forum Wales, the awards celebrate exceptional work of those in the care sector.

Mr Parker-Evans is shortlisted in the excellence in Catering category, sponsored by Harlech Foodservice

The winners of gold, silver and bronze will be announced at Cardiff City Hall on Friday, October 21.

Mr Parker-Evans said: “Hotels and restaurants are a constant bustle of activity, but what I love about Capel Grange is really getting to know the people I’m cooking for.

“When I arrived there was an emphasis on traditional dishes like cottage pie. We still do those but I’ve tried to introduce new flavours, always consulting residents.

“One fun thing we do is blindfold tasting sessions. I’ll prepare dishes and they’ll wear blindfolds to sample them.

"We get some honest feedback. They pull no punches when it comes to telling me what they think of dishes.”

Mario Kreft MBE, chair of Care Forum Wales, said the aim of the Wales Care Awards was to recognise the unstinting and remarkable dedication of unsung heroes and heroines across Wales.

He said: “During the Covid crisis, this fantastic workforce rose magnificently to the challenge, putting their own lives on the line to do everything they possibly could to safeguard the people for whom they provide care.

“If you don’t recognise the people who do the caring you will never provide the standards people need and never recognise the value of people who need care in society."