A CHEF renowned for his heavy metal hairstyle is in with a shout of creating a dish to celebrate the centenary of the Women's Institute.

Middlesbrough's Michael O'Hare, who is chef at The Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds, will be competing against two other chefs to win a place on the Great British Menu.

The Hair Metal chef, as he is known, will be taking on Yorkshire-born Tim Allen, head chef at Launceston Place in London, and Mini Patel, chef at The Pointer in Buckinghamshire, in the North-East heat of the BBC cooking show next month.

The series invites 24 of the nation’s top chefs to plate up perfection and battle for the chance to cook at a glorious banquet marking the centenary of the Women’s Institute.

This year’s challenge is to produce 21st century dishes worthy of the custodians of first class homecooking. The dishes must honour the generations of women who have helped to make Britain the great culinary nation it is today.

The chefs have taken inspiration from the women in their families – and the pioneering women of the institute – to turn homecooked classics into modern masterpieces.

The regional heats will see all of the chefs’ dishes scrutinized by Britain’s most accomplished chefs and veterans of the competition. Winners of this first round will present their menus to the judging panel: award-winning critic Matthew Fort, doyenne of British cookery Prue Leith, and restaurateur Oliver Peyton.

Joining the judges each week will be longstanding WI members and home cooks – who will ensure the dishes going forward to the Great British Menu national finals measure up to the exacting standards of the Institute.

Judge Prue Leith said: “Chefs in this country, and in fact the whole British restaurant scene, owe a great debt to the WI. They were the original home economists, teaching us how to grow fantastic produce and get the most from our ingredients.

“For a century, the women of the WI have been a pioneering force for change and for good in this country.

“Who would have thought 100 years on that most ladies at Seven Hills WI in Sheffield are in their late 20s, with over 100 names on the waiting list. Any organisation which has done what the WI has done over the last century of campaigning and cooking should be celebrated.”

The spotlight turns on the North-East in the week of September 7, with the chefs tackling new dishes every night.