THE head chef at Hotel Portmeirion will represent Wales in the Great British Menu.

Mark Threadgill fought off strong competition from fellow Welsh contestants, Georgia Summerin, Tom Westerland and Simmie Vedi to reach the final stage of the TV show.

Viewers saw the four chefs whittled down to one, with Vedi the first to leave.

Tom, known as Westy, went next, leaving Mark and Georgia to fight it out for the top spot and the chance to cook a dish at a once in a lifetime banquet at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion.

Presenter Andi Oliver is encouraging all the chefs representing their region or nations to deliver their best for the competition. Broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday nights on BBC2, Andi has also helped veterans of the competition whittle the competing chefs for each area down to just two.

Last night, Mark was chosen as the overall winner for Wales will be chosen by a judging panel led by chef and TV presenter, Tom Kerridge.

Tom is a champion of British cooking – his style is all about flavour and quality but in relaxed surroundings – he is the only chef in Britain to have two Michelin stars for a pub. Much admired through the industry for his work in training the next generation, Tom is the perfect person to lead the search for the best new chefs in Britain. Last, but not least – he’s the only chef to have twice won the main course element on Great British Menu – so he knows what the pressure is like in the GBM kitchen and what it takes to win and get to the banquet.

He was joined by one of the UK’s most successful food entrepreneurs – restaurateur and broadcaster, Nisha Katona. Joining them both was comedian and foodie, Ed Gamble. The guest judge Mark and Georgia had to impress was TV presenter Gethin Jones.

Both chefs worked hard to produce top quality dishes for the judging panel, but it was Mark who took the top spot.