As Craft Guild chairman of judges, Basten is heavily involved in the annual contest and said the organisers wanted to make the theme ‘extra special’ this year to acknowledge its 25^th anniversary.

In addition to improving entrants’ cooking skills, knowledge and technique, the competition also aims to develop “real life experience under intense pressure and competition situations.”

Basted added: “One of the main aims of the competition is to prepare students for future careers in the industry and I believe that the challenge, it’s theme and criteria this year do exactly that.”

As such, the criteria for 2018/19 centres on the ‘essential’ core skills and techniques studied on a second-year professional cookery course and will therefore test students’ knowledge of both classical cooking and more modern methods of the last 25 years.

Basten concluded: “Winning the Country Range Student Chef Challenge sets students up for a life in the catering industry and shows that they can handle the pressure in the kitchen under strict competition conditions.

“As well as the obvious benefits of winning the title, the successful team will also have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant, which many aspiring chefs can only dream of.

“It really is a fantastic competition and one I highly recommend chefs and catering colleges to get involved in.”

Open to full-time hospitality and catering college students across the country, the entry deadline is 18 December. To submit or for more information, visit: www.countryrangestudentchef.co.uk.