A PEMBROKESHIRE chef will contest the prestigious National Chef of Wales final after qualifying as one of the two best runners-up from the regional heats.

Karl Jones Hughes, head chef at Hotel Plas Hyfryd, Narberth, and a former pastry chef with the Welsh National Culinary Team, was runner-up to Ryan Jones, 28, sous chef at Ffresh Restaurant at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, in the South Wales regional final last Tuesday.

They will be joined in the final at the Welsh International Culinary Championships at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru on St. Valentine's Day by North Wales champion Chris Owen, 25, sous chef at the Castle Hotel, Conwy, and runner up, Jonathan Reed, senior chef de partie at the Royal Sportsman Hotel, Porthmadog.

The finalists face the ultimate challenge of devising and cooking a menu for a four-course dinner for four in three hours from a mystery box of ingredients, which they will see only the night before the contest. The ingredients will include some Wales the True Taste award winning products.

This biannual contest is organised by the Welsh Culinary Association and sponsored jointly by the Welsh Government, Unilever Food Solutions and Hybu Cig Cymru/Meat Promotion Wales.

Apart from the coveted national title, £3,000 prizemoney is on offer in the contest - the winner receives £2,000 and runner-up £1,000.

Welsh National Culinary Team manager Graham Tinsley, executive chef at Carden Park Country Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester, predicted a very closely contested final.

"Normally, there might be one or two underdogs in the final, but not on this occasion," he said. "These are all talented chefs and it will be a very tough final."