CONTESTANTS in a popular television cooking programme donned their wellies and waterproofs to experience some Cumbrian cuisine.

In a Masterchef episode celebrating the ‘Great British Larder’ the remaining six finalists first battled it out with their Scottish-inspired dishes, which led to one amateur cook facing elimination.

The rest of the hopefuls then travelled to Cartmel for a masterclass with award-winning chef Simon Rogan of L’Enclume in Cartmel.

Mr Rogan took the remaining six on a countryside expedition, where he encouraged them to look for various ingredients on the land, such as hawthorn berries and ‘sweet bracken’.

The idea was to inspire the chefs before they were faced with their next challenge - cooking a lunch buffet for 25 local food producers and Holker Estate farmers, in just two-and-a-half hours.

The meals were prepared and served at Old Hall Farm, Bouth, owned by Alex and Charlotte Sharphouse, who were among the guests. Lord Cavendish was also in attendance.

The delights prepared included hay smoked herring and pan fried partridge, with chocolate and hazelnut brownie being one of the tempting dessert options.

Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace and Mr Rogan then sampled the efforts before delivering their verdicts.

“The whole angle of the programme was local produce and what could be done with food using local surroundings,” said Mr Rogan. “I think they were inspired by what I showed them, I don’t think many of them had been to the area before.”

While Mr Rogan, 44, admits he is not an avid viewer of Masterchef, he is a fan of the programme and plans to make a special effort to tune in, relishing the opportunity to put his feet up after the busy Valentine’s period.

At the end of the programme he had praise for all the contestants when he said: “You treated out local food with respect. You should be saluted for that.”