Hastings man ready for Come Dine With Me: Champion of Champions

Each week Come Dine With Me pits five amateur chefs against each other by hosting a dinner party for the other contestants, who then rate the host’s performance.

Stelios Michael, owner of Red Hair in Castle Street, took home the £1,000 prize when he won the popular Channel 4 show in October 2012.

Next week Stelios will be showing off his culinary skills in the spin-off show Come Dine With Me: Champion of Champions.

The 36-year-old explained: “I won the competition in 2012 and they have now done this new programme with the top 65 winners out of 1,200 shows.

“It was a great experience doing the first one and winning it, so I was really excited about going back there again.

“But because it was a new competition, we did not know what to expect and they would not tell us anything about it.”

Stelios will see his culinary creativity put to the test as he goes head to head with two other previous winners.

Stelios was given just five minutes in the pantry to gather the produce he needed to cook his main dish, with contestants not allowed to return for forgotten ingredients.

And a twist sees Stelios’ main scored by one of his rivals from the original show - namely Hastings Borough Councillor Andrew Batsford.

Fortunately Cllr Batsford said the pair became ‘good mates’ during filming in 2012, so hopefully the camaraderie will boost Stelios’ chances of victory.

For his starter, Stelios had to cook whatever the other two winners served up on their nights of the competition, while the person trailing after the mains round picked the dessert dish. These were judged by Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell.

The episode will air on Channel 4 on Wednesday February 17, starting at 5pm.