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It is the national finals of the Great British Menu, and today the eight regional champions compete to get their main courses onto the final menu of the banquet, which celebrates British children’s literature.

The chefs cook for the judges, food critic Mathew Fort, cook and broadcaster Andi Oliver and restaurateur Oliver Peyton, as well as a guest judge - creator of the Alex Rider teen spy series of books, which have sold 19 million copies worldwide, Anthony Horowitz. To ramp up the pressure a little higher for the chefs, there is a surprise visitor to the kitchen - actor David Bradley, aka Filch in the Harry Potter films.

As ever, the judges are looking for dishes that capture the wonder and imagination of children’s literature and are worthy of a banquet for the UK’s finest authors and illustrators. The main course is the course all the chefs want to win so they all bring their A-game today. With inventive dishes drawing inspiration from characters in children’s books ranging from Harry Potter to Mr Toad and the Three Little Pigs, the competition is fierce and the stakes are high as the heat is turned up in the kitchen. Only one dish will be awarded a place on the banquet menu – which one will it be?