A chef who works at an award-winning country pub and restaurant has taken part in a cooking competition in Italy.

Jose Martin, sous chef at The King's Arms in Fleggburgh, was chosen as one of the final 10 contestants in the grand final of the QOCO gastronomic competition. 

The contest, which took place in Andria, near Bari, requires rookie chefs to prepare a recipe using pasta and olive oil from the region. 

Mr Martin, 25, said it was "a great honour" to take part and he was "proud" to represent the King's Arms where he has been a chef here for nearly eight years.

On the first evening, at a Michelin-starred restaurant, he won second place for cooking a dish from the King's Arms' menu - blow-torched mackerel, lovage emulsion, vanilla pickled grapes, horseradish and Peruvian marigold leaf.

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Eastern Daily Press: A dish cooked by Jose Martin, chef at the King's Arms in Fleggburgh, at a cooking competition in Italy. Photo: King's Arms Fleggburgh.A dish cooked by Jose Martin, chef at the King's Arms in Fleggburgh, at a cooking competition in Italy. Photo: King's Arms Fleggburgh. (Image: King's Arms Fleggburgh)

The main competition was held the following night, when he cooked against chefs representing Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and a MasterChef finalist from Turkey.

While he did not finish in the top three, he said he had a very successful trip and gained a lot of experience, he said.

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Mr Martin started cooking professionally in 2014 when he finished school. 

After completing an apprenticeship course, he joined the award-winning restaurant in Fleggburgh and has worked his way up through the kitchen to sous chef.

Eastern Daily Press: The King's Arms in Fleggburgh.The King's Arms in Fleggburgh. (Image: Archant 2014)

Mr Martin, who was born in Lisbon in Portugal, moved to Great Yarmouth in 2002 when he was four-years-old.

His family is from a food background and he only ever wanted to be a chef, he said.

The QOCO competition is organised by the JRE, a group of chefs from all over Europe.

Mark Dixon, head chef at the King's Arms, was one of the group's founding members.