A CHEF from Oxford is in with a chance of winning chef Gary Rhodes's Local Food Hero 2006.

William Pouget, who owns and works at the Vaults and Garden Cafe in the University Church of St Mary, High Street, is one of eight people in the South-East regional finals.

If he makes it to the next stage, he could be in the running to win £40,000 and be crowned Britain's ultimate food champion in the national final on December 1.

Mr Pouget, 31, who also owns Alpha Bar in Oxford's Covered Market, admitted: "I've never been a chef before, I've never been trained as a chef, I've never worked anywhere else.

"When I opened Alpha, that was my apprenticeship."

But he said: "I am flattered we gave gone so far."

The Vaults is renowned in the city for using organic, locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients.

He said: "Locally-sourced vegetables and seasonal ingredients create a community of culture with suppliers. It is like an extended village."

The Local Food Heroes 2006 competition is being televised and will be shown as part of an 11-part TV series on UKTV Food, hosted by celebrity chef Mr Rhodes. The show, which starts on November 20, also stars chefs and fellow judges Oliver Rowe and Rosemary Shrager, who recently appeared in the ITV programme Ladette to Lady.

Each region of the country will have its own programme, which follows celebrity food scouts including Paul Rankin and Edwina Currie as they search to uncover the top eight contenders for the title of Local Food Hero.