AN e-commerce manager served up a tasty treat for top TV chef Gary Rhodes to win a heat of the BBC2 Masterchef series.

Kia English, from Beaconsfield, won the regional round for the Home Counties after preparing a spicy chicken dish followed by a hazelnut meringue.

She said she was over the moon with the result.

She added: "Cooking is a passion for me nowadays but it has not always been.

"I'm from mid-west America and my exposure to fine food there was limited.

"Travelling to Europe had an influence and I first got into it when I was in my mid to late twenties.

"One of my cousins is married to a chef and we started to go to his restaurant when we moved over here."

Kia moved to England three years ago after a spell in Paris, which she said also fuelled her enthusiasm for cooking.

She has lived in Beaconsfield for about a year and said she was still getting to know the people and the town.

She added: "We are getting ensconced in pub culture there are certainly plenty of pubs to choose from in Beaconsfield."

Kia added that she had had a narrow escape on the show: "Gordon Ramsey was doing the morning show and mine was in the afternoon.

"I was relieved it was not him.

"When I heard he was not doing my show I let out a huge sigh of relief."

Kia said that zany chef Gary Rhodes was the same in the flesh as he is on the television.

The programme was filmed on February 28, and Kia already knows if she has progressed to the finals or not, but we will have to wait for the next instalment in a few weeks' time.