A PROMISING amateur chef has been whittled down from hundreds of entries to compete in the final of a national cooking competition.

Jordan Brice, 21, of Colchester, who is studying maths at Swansea University, will compete against four other students across the country in a cook-off next month in London.

The LoSalt Student Cook of the Year could win £1,000 worth of food vouchers if successful.

His original entry impressed the panel showing knowledge of nutrition and creative flair.

The same was said for his second entry where he was tasked with creating a dish for a family of four with a budget of only £20.

His Steak Ragú, inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, featured two of our five-a-day, used lean meat and came up to just £15.

"The trick to saying on budget is using fresh ingredients and knowing where you can skimp and where you can't," Jordan said.

"The test was to have a recipe which had all the elements of a well-balanced meal and a Ragú has all the elements.

"I think my tweaks from Jamie's recipe made it more realistic for a lowly student."

Jordan entered the competition through photo sharing app Instagram where he posted a picture of his healthy meal with a hashtag.

He was contacted by LoSalt just days later.

He said: "I love experimenting and started out making my own meals, and trying to save money.

"Now I'm more into trying to get the best out of ingredients and experimenting with flavours. I'm always looking for new bars and restaurants to get ideas on how to improve on what I've already got."

Jordan will be judged by a panel of six experts including food writers, celebrity chef Sam Stern, Mark Richmond, Asda's innovation development chef, and Azmina Govindji, a nutritionist at LoSalt.

The final round will take place at London's Cactus Kitchens in February - home to the Michel Roux Jr Cookery School.

He added: "My dish is a spaghetti carbonara with seven ingredients - it's super quick, tasty and filling.

"I'm actually quite nervous. They sent us a file with all the other contestants' pictures and then I realised I'm actually going to be in this competitive cooking thing against other people where professionals are going to judge me.

"I'm looking to win but it's not the end of the world if I don't - I'm excited for the experience."