Head chef at Five Spices crowned 'peoples' favourite

Saba Chowdhury, aged 22, has led the kitchen at the Five Spice Bangladeshi and Tandoori restaurant in Belbroughton since it opened two years ago.

And now his culinary skills have been recognised at the Master Chef Promotions Awards.

Having been nominated by customers he made it through to a live cook-off at Birmingham South and City College on January 7.

Competing chefs were challenged to cook their signature dish from fresh ingredients and within an hour.

Saba, from Pleck, Walsall, spent weeks developing his own dish – a duck curry with orange.

"I had tried the dish every different way with fish and other ingredients," he said.

"But it was the duck which came out well and what the customers were preferring."

The dish was developed as part of a new menu for the restaurant which will be launched next week.

Despite coming up against chefs much older than himself, Saba was not lacking in confidence and was named the region's winner at a special awards ceremony in Birmingham.

He added: "I was around 80 percent sure I was going to win.

"Of course at first I was a bit nervous. This was my first competition and many of the other chefs were more experienced.

"But once I went there and saw the other dishes I wasn't that scared.

"Now I want more awards and hopefully I can pick up the national title in the coming years."

Manager at the Five Spice restaurant, Sadiq Miah, said the whole team was proud of his achievements.

He said: "He is only young, just 22 years of age, but since day one he has been very creative and the customers have been delighted with the food he has produced.

"He has been really enthusiastic about winning. He had done well just to get through to the cook-off so we can say he exceeded expectations.

"Importantly he is not scared to try things. He is always coming in with lots of new ideas and it is clear to see he has been doing his research."