Kevin is our Devon Life Home Cook of the Year

PUBLISHED: 11:25 17 November 2014 | UPDATED: 11:25 17 November 2014

Our winner, Kevin Lan. Photo: Matt Austin

Matt Austin Images 2013

hoco14

The title of the first ever Devon Life Home Cook of the year goes to Kevin Lan who wowed the judges with not only his impressive cooking skills but his ability to stay calm- even when he accidentally burned his caramel sauce and had to make it again.

Kevin, a facial surgeon who is based in Torquay, says he cooks to relax but it was clear from the outset of our competition, that he takes his cooking very, very seriously and according to our judges, he elevated the cooking in our competition to the level of Fine Dining by plating up the kind of food that you would expect in a really good restaurant.

From L to R, Julia Strang, Philippa Rees, sponsor Andy Bradbury and then Sue Stoneman, James Chubb, Kevin Lan and Sophie Lerwill and sponsor Chris Reynard from Waitrose

Our winner was presented with his prizes, which included a £500 John Lewis voucher, a £500 brand new KitchenAid and a specially-commissioned trophy made for the competition by Dartington Crystal at our ‘uber glamorous’ Food & Drink awards dinner. He has also won the chance to cook with Matthew Peryer, head chef at Lewtrenchard Manor which has just been voted as one of the UK’s top 100 hotels.

Second prize went to talented home cook, Sophie Lerwill, who lives in Muddiford, near Barnstaple. Sophie won a weekend cookery course of her choice (plus accommodation) at the award-winning Ashburton School of Cookery. She has also been invited to spend a day cooking with lead judge and Masterchef Pro winner, Anton Piotrowski, who himself has just gained his first Michelin star.

Kevin Lan with his Dartington Glass trophy

Third prize went to a lady who must be one of the most enthusiastic cooks in the county. Sue Stoneman from Exmouth won a romantic foodie weekend at The Moorland Garden hotel where head chef, Bruce Cole, has put the Wildflower restaurant on the West Country foodie map.

All of our finalists, including runners up James Chubb, Julia Strang and Phillipa Rees, were presented with a beautiful cheeseboard/cake dome engraved with their names and were invited to our black tie awards ceremony and dinner, along with their partners.

The top three - Kevin Lan, Sue Stoneman and Sophie Lerwill with Andy Bradbury of Bradburys Kitchen and Chris Reynard of Waitrose

The Devon Life Home Cook of the Year was sponsored by Bradburys Kitchens which retails the Alno and Miele ranges and was further supported by Waitrose which supplied the ingredients for the finals weekend where all six cooks made their three course meals for the judges.

We will be running our competition again in 2015 so if you are a keen home cook, make sure you keep an eye out for the launch and all the entry details in our upcoming issues.