Byrne, after winning the north west heat in February, is now among the last eight chefs competing in the final which will air on March 25. The theme for the competition, which involves British chefs competing for the chance to cook a banquet for a high profile figure, is Comic Relief and the challenge was to create gastronomically sound dishes that have a sense of humour and demonstrate performance on a plate. On March 12 he demonstrated the two dishes that secured his finalist place – a classical frogs legs starter and a prawn cocktail – to around 50 Sheffield College catering students studying for the Professional Chefs Diploma. They saw that Byrne's variation of prawn cocktail involved blowing up a balloon, injecting liquid nitrogen into it to freeze it, filling the balloon with passion fruit purée, and rolling it over liquid nitrogen until the contents froze. He then cut away the outer layer of the balloon to reveal a dome, which he laid on a bed of prawns, baby beetroot and passion fruit. Byrne explained: "Prawn cocktail is viewed as a culinary joke so my dish builds on that concept and aims to create a striking, comical result with the wow factor. I enjoy serving classical food that excites but which uses contemporary techniques. I like to encourage students to stick with the classical culinary marriages because they've endured for a reason. "It's really important to inspire young people going into the catering industry because it can be really tough to stick at it, especially in the early years when you're working your way up the ladder. If I can inspire just one of the students, then I feel as though I've done my bit." College principal and executive director Julie Byrne said: "Aiden's achievements from the days when he was at catering college are truly inspirational. We are thrilled that a chef of such high standing has taken the time to share the secrets of his success with our students. "Our catering study programmes have a reputation for excellence, and we have strong industry links that provide the additional benefit of developing our students' work-related skills, and helping them to gain employment." Chef and restaurateur Byrne is a former head chef of The Dorchester in London. He is claimed to be the youngest chef, at the age of 22, to win a Michelin star after completing a college catering course and leaving school with few qualifications. He runs two restaurants in the north west – Church Green in Lymm, Cheshire, and Craxton Wood in Ledsham, near Chester.