Local Authority Caterers Association chef of the year Lynne Howe makes the most of her work experience at the Royal Garden hotels in Kensington, London.

She helped head chef Steve Munkley in the pastry section, preparing Chinese food and worked inthe hotel's 10th-floor fine-dining kitchen.

Howe, a relief cook at Langlands Primary School in Forfar, fought off competition from seven other finalists in April to win the 2005 title. She works as a trouble-shooter for Tayside Contracts to implement the country's Hungry For Success nutritional standards.