Apprentice Shrewsbury chef Kelly Jones will be joining a brigade of some of the region’s finest chefs to create a delectable menu of local dishes at this year’s HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) Diamond Awards Gala Dinner.

Miss Jones, 19, from Shrewsbury, will form part of a team which includes four other established chefs at the fifth annual Diamond Awards to be held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Saturday, 12 May.

Miss Jones was offered an apprenticeship by HEFF and has been working at the TASTE kitchen at Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre in Shrewsbury honing her skills for the past year.  She will now get to put these skills to the test by working alongside Paul Taylor, Executive Chef at Hilton Birmingham Metropole who will be leading the brigade, and three chef lecturers from University College Birmingham; Mathew Shropshall, Bernhard Schumacher and Paul Russell.

“I’m really looking forward to cooking at the Diamond Awards Gala Dinner, the produce is fantastic and we’ve got a great a menu.  It will also be a really good experience working alongside these chefs and helping to create dishes for an event of this scale,” said Miss Jones.

HEFF Chief Executive Karen Davies said: “We are so pleased with how Kelly has progressed in the last year and delighted that she is taking on the challenge of being part of the Brigade of Chefs.”

The Diamond Awards celebrate the fantastic food and drink available in the heart of England region which includes Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham and The Black Country.

There are 15 awards up for grabs including nine product categories, the three business Special Diamond Awards of GROW, INNOVATE and EXCEL, the Retail Award, the Hospitality Award and the highly coveted Special Diamond Award for TASTE which is awarded to the overall winner from the product categories.

The Brigade of Chefs will be using some of the finest local produce from the heart of England to create a sumptuous six course menu for the 250 guests at the Diamond Awards Gala Dinner.

The evening will be hosted by journalist and broadcaster Suzanne Virdee and will come to a close with music from The Right Stuff.  Tickets to this glittering event are just £65. Call the HEFF office to book on 01743 452818.