OXFORD: Chris Hope, who heads up the catering team at legal firm Manches, has been named the Catermasters Chef of the Year.

Mr Hope took the title after a “cook off” competition arranged by the workplace catering specialist in which he went up against other chefs from the company which operates more than 100 contracts around the UK.

He said: “I hadn’t entered a cooking competition before but it was really enjoyable to be given the time to pit my wits against some of the other chefs in the business, one of whom works on another contract right next door to where I work in Oxford, so there was plenty of friendly rivalry.”

Steven Griffin, who works in Coventry, was winner of the junior prize.