CHEFS gave Ridgeway School pupils a quick cooking masterclass yesterday afternoon.

Former Ridgeway pupil Guy Browning and head chef Kev Chandler from the Rick Stein restaurant in Marlborough took questions from an enthusiastic crowd of Year 9 students and showed them how to make as fancy fried squid dish.

Teacher Karylea Dalley got in touch with the restaurant to organise the workshop and was surprised to find Guy working in the kitchen as a chef.

She said: "It was amazing to see that one of our students was working for Rick Stein, I couldn't quite believe it, it was surreal. It's so inspirational for the other students."

Mr Browning left school at 16 to study at North Star College in Swindon before doing an apprenticeship at Three Trees in his hometown of Chiseldon.

Six months ago, he started work at the Marlborough restaurant.

The 18-year-old said: "It's gone pretty fast, before you know it six months have flown by. It's nice to see all the teachers again and show what we can do.

"When I was younger I was making cakes and really into patisserie then as I got older I started to think 'Time to make some real food.'''

He spoke about how much he enjoyed working at the restaurant as a commis chef with colleague Kev.

He said: "Kev's a brilliant chef, he's like a machine, he's always on top of everything and knows everything that's going on. Eventually, I'd like my own place, but nothing massive, I'm more low-key."

Dozens of pupils who all chose Food as their Design and Technology option for Year 9 studies took part in the workshop, doing their best to learn from the professionals and cook up a storm.

First, they watched as Guy and Kev talked about sustainable fishing and chopped up parsley, potatoes, chilli, garlic, chorizo, a tomato, and roast red pepper and fried it in a pan with fresh squid.

Then they tried to recreate the dish themselves with a little help from the pros.

Miss Dalley added: "The workshop went really well, some of these students can be quite troublesome but they were the ones asking the most questions.

"Hopefully it will encourage them to take their studies further, improve their food awareness and knowledge, and realise that being a chef isn't just about cooking, you need maths, English and IT skills, too."

The Rick Stein restaurant will be working with Ridgeway School on a regular basis. Miss Dalley is hoping that they'll return for another workshop before the summer break and then come back again in September.