A chef in Lavenham has reached the final of a highly prestigious young chef competition.

Swann Auffray, who currently works at The Great House in Lavenham, has reached the UK final of the S Pellegrino Young Chef Academy (SPYCA) competition.

Swann, originally from Nantes in France, is just one of 10 of the UK's most promising chefs under 30 years old shortlisted for this competition.

Swann said: "It's such an achievement to be regional finalist in this years SPYCA competition.

"When I applied, I never thought I would be selected but here I am with the opportunity of a lifetime, I still can't believe it."

In order to win, each of the finalists need to wow the judges with their signature dishes, with Swann's being wild sea bass, cherry and fennel, which he says he likes to "invite customers to travel into the summer season and beautiful products we can find in Suffolk".

The judges then pick the winner, and they will join the winners of the other categories in competing at the grand finale in Milan next year.

The final takes place in London on October 12.