A Darlington chef is over the moon after achieving second place at Bangladeshi International MasterChef.

Syed Ahmed is head chef at Bombay Gate on Skinnergate and after fighting off fierce competition at the previous round in Northampton, and being crowned UK champion, he flew to Sylhet for the final.

As Mr Ahmed’s family originates from Bangladesh, he combined the trip with a holiday, as the competition spanned four days.

Competing against 23 other talented chefs from across South Asia, each candidate had to deliver authentic Bangladeshi cuisine.

The Northern Echo: The judges tasting Syed's foodThe judges tasting Syed's food (Image: Syed Ahmed)

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Mr Ahmed told The Northern Echo: “Working in Darlington, our food does cater to the British palate so I couldn’t really fall back on dishes I cook regularly at the restaurant.

“It was definitely a learning experience. They really enjoyed my starter it but it didn’t really hit their brief. I made ‘dynamite prawns’ which is more of a fusion dish with Thai influences, and they wanted something authentically Bangladeshi, but they loved my main and dessert.

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“I got top marks for my dessert, and I’m not really a dessert chef. It was something I made when Tommy Miah came to Bombay Gate. It was paan shot, made with dates, fennel seeds, paan, but I made my own version of it and made with ice cream to go with it. It blew them away because it was a traditional dessert but with a twist, so they went crazy for that.

“I also had to cook a fish I’d never cooked before. I made hariali ilish fish, at Bombay Gate I use chicken, but the judges loved it with the fish.

The Northern Echo: The show-stopping dessert. Picture: Syed AhmedThe show-stopping dessert. Picture: Syed Ahmed (Image: Syed Ahmed)

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“It was amazing. It’s such a big thing in Sylhet and we had the media following us around all the time. I loved it and I’ve learnt so much.”

Shortly before heading off to Sylhet, Bangladeshi-born British chef Tommy Miah, attended Bombay Gate for a food festival where he and Mr Ahmed entertained with live cooking demonstrations.

Bombay Gate is located at 10 Skinnergate, Darlington.

The Northern Echo: Syed Ahmed may not have won first place, but he certainly made Darlington proud. Picture: Syed AhmedSyed Ahmed may not have won first place, but he certainly made Darlington proud. Picture: Syed Ahmed (Image: Syed Ahmed)