One of the judges in the recent competition for young chefs at Writhlington School was Martin Blake, who works in Bath, for a highly prestigious hotel kitchen cooking up five star meals.

Part of the reason for the event was to inspire and encourage young people to come into the catering world, which can be tough place and not always well paid,

So it is important to ignite passion in the youngsters for food and cooking as the event itself showed as a group of Year 9 students from across Bath and North East Somerset competed for a trophy and were hopefully encouraged to pursue a career in catering.

So it was a great opportunity to ask THIS successful chef why he started out.

Kitchens can be intense but they are also, for me, a happy place

Martin Blake told us why he loves what he does, and how he followed a slightly unusual path into cooking. He said: " The main thing for me is that every day is different and you learn so much, all the time.

"I have been cooking professionally for sixteen or seventeen years and I am still seeing different things, learning new things every day. No one day is the same as the next. It is never routine in the kitchen and that is what I love about it."

But it is tough?

Yes, " admits Martin, whose kitchen won a coveted Michelin star in 2016 . " It is a really tough industry and you have to be passionate and keen about what you are doing, you have to want to be there. But the rewards are endless."

Martin studied cookery for GCSE but then left the kitchen for A levels, in art and design and media, but while studying had a part-time job in a Little Chef (which is apt).

" I thought I am really enjoying this work, I enjoyed being in the kitchen, "he explained. " I was always wanting to improve thing, to see what I could achieve.

"A lot of chefs, like me, would be rather creating and making new dishes than just serving, that is a big part of the joy."

So the big question - who is a better cook - women or men?

Not a moment of hesitation from Martin Blake : " Women" he says right back.

" In my opinion I think they are definitely better. Having women chefs in the kitchen is absolutely great, what you tend to find is that they are stronger and coming from a great place and everything is better organised."

So does he find his profession makes friends reluctant to invite him around for dinner?

" People are sometimes worried to invite me for a meal they cook, but I don't care, I am just happy when someone cooks for me. As long as I don't have to do the washing up, " Martin laughs.

A piece of advice for anyone thinking of coming into the industry?

" Work hard," says Martin. " You are going to have good days and bad days,. keep you head down and keep pushing. When I came into the business it wasn't really such a big talking point, being a great chef.

"Now the idea of being a top star chef well that is huge, bakery shows, cookery shows all kinds of things going on.

" It has brought the light into hospitality and that is great.

" All I knew when I started was that I loved to cook, even frying a sausage. I still love it and would rather cook any day than sit in an office."