A SOUP kitchen chef who serves the city’s homeless has set his sights on spinning discs for Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt at the Oscars.

Gary Smith is renowned for whipping up some delicious treats in his mother ‘Ma’ Smith’s kitchen, which has helped to support homeless people in the city for a quarter of a century.

But earlier this year, he swapped dishes for decks by performing for a sea of stars at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, California, which he says makes him a strong favourite for a similar role at the Oscars in March.

The 50-year-old, who has deejayed professionally for years, said: “I would absolutely love to perform at the Oscars because it’s one of the biggest and best in the world and it would be another amazing achievement to cross off my bucket list.

“I got a really great reception from some of the celebrities at the Golden Globes last year and some of the newspapers too so I think I’m in the running to get it, along with performances at MTV awards and the Golden Globes again.”

Mr Smith, who lives in Bicester, performed in the Golden Globes Gifting Lounge earlier this year and even brought his wife Yvonne and their son Darius along to mingle with a room of Hollywood celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Elton John, Justin Timberlake and Alec Baldwin.

He said: “The opportunity for me to do this kind of performance was a long time in the making because I applied three years ago and hadn’t heard back.

“Then out of the blue I got an email offering it to me and I just couldn’t believe my luck.

“It was an absolutely incredible opportunity, I loved it and I just couldn’t believe that I was there in Los Angeles with so many famous faces.

“It was also such a fantastic event to bring my family along to, because we do everything together and I wanted them to share in it too.”

The importance of family is inherited straight from his mum – full name Icolyn Smith – who said she was very proud of her son.

The 86-year-old who is originally from Coolshade, Jamaica, said: “He is an absolute star and he deserves the success.”

Mr Smith has been spinning soulful house music around Europe for more than a decade under the pseudonym DJG: at big events such as Cowley Road Carnival, Bristol Carnival and more recently, the Monaco Grand Prix.

Mr Smith said he is expecting to hear back from Oscars organisers in October.