HAVING come within a whisker of winning last night's prestigious Masterchef Goes Large title on BBC2, Darlington runner-up Mark Todd spoke of his dream of opening a top Northern restaurant.

The 26-year-old international sales manager for Future Publishing, based in Bath, was always the outsider for the competition because he had just two years cooking experience. But Mark's passion and ability to improvise won over the judges and saw him survive two intense weeks of daily culinary semi-final challenges against the clock. These included supplying meals for the captain and crew of HMS Illustrious at sea, creating a Michelin star standard starter and feeding the Corrs pop group.

Last night Mark, whose parents are award-winning builder Bill and Sandra Todd of Cockerton, eventually lost out to freelance writer Thomasina Miers after a cook-off which also involved contest favourite Caroline Brewester, a stockbroker.

He revealed that unlike his London-based rivals, he'd spent several weeks of filming in a BBC granny flat unable to practice his contest dishes and somehow got through two days without cooking after cutting a thumb to the bone.

Now Mark is waiting to see what cookery offers come his way after the final and is building his reputation by working ten-hour Saturday shifts at Bath's famous Royal Crescent Hotel.

"I cannot afford to stop my full-time job at the moment but I want to travel to gain experience of food in India, Thailand, America and Mexico. My dream is to open my own restaurant in a big Northern city like Leeds or Manchester with my fiancee Esther. She calls me her yo-yo because I fly off determined to do something but always come back. She's had to put up with a lot," he said.

Mark, who attended Barnard Castle and Yarm Schools during 18 years in Darlington, also paid tribute to his magazine publishing employers who allowed him to take six weeks holiday - five unpaid - to compete against 4,000 other contestants.

The amateur chef, who once boasted he'd never tasted a £25 main course, admitted: "I've had quite a few now and an awful lot of them for free. Esther and I were also invited to be guests of judge John Torode at his restaurant."

He moved to Bath after gaining a degree at Aston Business School, Birmingham and working for 14 months in London. Mark also played rugby as a flanker with several North-East clubs.