TALENTED Charles Colombeau has been named as the winner of the La Taittinger Culinary Prize, regarded as the “Everest of gastronomy”.

The head chef at Gravetye Manor Restaurant, near East Grinstead, has pocketed a 2,400 euro prize and will now go on to represent the UK in the international stage of the contest.

This year’s competition takes a new format as competing chefs were given a “hero” ingredient, which they are required to use at the heart of their signature dish.

The chosen ingredient this time is king scallops.

Competitors were tasked with designing a dish with their own personal touch that is both “visually spectacular” and of course delicious to eat.

Chefs were supposed to draw on all their influences from culture country, heritage, and style to create their dish.

Charles will now go forward to represent the UK at the prize’s international final in Paris in January.

He will compete against the winners of national competitions in Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland.

On the eve of the final all the national winners will spend the day at Taittinger in Champagne “to fuel their creativity”.

Charles’s winning creation remains under wraps until the final where he will prepare this along with a set recipe revealed the day before.

The set recipe and the signature dish will then be put against the entries from all other participants, with the winner receiving a medal and 20,000 euros.

The second and third place chefs will also receive prizes.

“The competition was extremely tough, and the new format of the competition has given the candidates new freedom to express their ideas and inspirations,” said competition president and two Michelin star chef Michel Roux.

“This led to an even higher standard of entries demonstrating excellent technical skills and attention to detail.”

“I look forward to seeing and tasting Charles’s dish in Paris where he will go head to head with the winners from the other national finals.”

The La Taittinger Culinary Prize has been running since 1953.

Previous champions including Joel Robuchon, Bernard Leprince and Michel Roth

Taittinger is a French wine family that is most famous for producing champagne.

It remains one of the few top wine houses actively owned and run by the family whose name is on the label.

The Pierre Taittinger International Culinary Award was founded in 1967 by Claude Taittinger to celebrate and promote the excellence of French cuisine.

Claude named it after his father, the founder of the Taittinger wine business who had died the previous year.

In 2007, when Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger took back the reins of the Champagne House, the Award became known as ‘“Le Taittinger” in joint honour to a family tradition once lost but now thriving, and to the talented chefs who had for a long time called it “Le Taittinger” among themselves.

The jury is now led by Emmanuel Renaut, the three-star chef of the Flocons de Sel and a 2004 Meilleur Ouvrier de France award-winner. The award is considered one of the top international awards in the profession.

Gravetye Manor is a Grade I listed building with Grade II* listed gardens.

Built in 1598 by Richard Infield, the property became a hotel and restaurant in 1958 when it was leased to Ron Howard and Peter Herbert.

A pioneer of the country house hotel, Peter Herbert turned the building into a 17-bedroom hotel and restored the 52-acre gardens.

Peter Herbert ran the hotel and restaurant with his wife Sue until 2004, when they sold it to Andrew Russel and chef Mark Raffan.

The business entered administration in 2010 and is now owned by fund manager Jeremy Hosking.