Winners of the western regional heat were teams from Blackpool & Le Fylde College and Hopwood Hall College in Lancashire, who beat off nine other teams to book their place in the grand final at the Grimsby Institute on May 11. The ultimate prize for the winning team will be the coveted title as well as £500 for each chef and £1,000 of Russums vouchers for their college. Each team of two student chefs has to prepare, cook and present a menu for six covers that included specific fish and seafood in their courses – many locally sourced. This consisted of whole Scottish squid and whole langoustines from the Isle of Lewis in the starter, farmed salmon and smoked Icelandic haddock in the intermediate course, and farmed whole tilapia from Lincolnshire and fresh whole Icelandic plaice in the main. Competitors could use one or both species as long as the costing for the menu was correct. This year's main sponsors include Seafish, Young's, Seachill, Sealord, Russums and Essential Cuisine, plus support from the Good Catch Project, which promotes sustainability, while the judges include celebrated chefs Mitch Tonks, Tom Aikens and Franck Pontais. Chef and food writer Tonks says this is "an outstanding competition that enables young chefs to compete against the best of the best and showcase their seafood credentials in a professional arena". The northern heat takes place at Yorkshire Coast College on March 9 (today), southern heat at Neath Port Talbot College on March 16, and the eastern heat at City Norwich College on March 23.