Cleveland defeated seven under-21s for the title at the live final of the competition at the Great Hospitality Show, Birmingham, last week.

Head of Tilda Foodservice, Craig Dillon, said: “Congratulations to Sean, a very worthy winner.”

Cleveland impressed judges with a coconut milk and smoked haddock kedgeree in the task where competitors had to create a main course using Tilda rice as the base ingredient.

Dillon said: “The way in which all of the contestants incorporated rice into their dishes was fantastic but Sean’s kedgeree really stood out.

His passion for quality ingredients shone through and his creativity and talent was reflected in the finished dish.”

Cleveland received automatic entry into the Tilda Chef of the Year competition in 2018, a trophy and a £150 Red Letter Days voucher.

Harry Lomas, executive head chef of The Grove Hotel, will be adding the winning dish to the hotel’s room service menu to honour Cleveland’s success.