Budding chefs went bananas - showing off their cookery skills to celebrity chef Raymond Blanc.

The children, from Great Milton Primary School, rustled up sweet delights for the famous French chef, which he tucked into at his restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, in the village.

The winning recipe in the banana-themed contest came from 11 year-old Louis Webb, who served up a banana tarte tatin with sticky toffee sauce.

The school competition was the first of its kind in Britain, and was organised by the Life Education Centre, which tours schools to teach children about living healthily.

The 25 entries included banana cake, banana sushi and banana smoothie.

Tom Lewis, general manager of the restaurant, stood in on behalf of Mr Blanc at the school awards ceremony last night, after the chef was taken ill. Presenting Louis with a new mountain bike, he said: "Raymond spent a lot of time going through all the recipes.

"He was very impressed by Louis' recipe because it had a lot of care and love in it and it had a French connection.

"It was also very rich and very delicious.

He added: "Bananas are very important to get all the nutrients we need to grow, because they contain potassium, zinc and vitamin C.

"If they can be made into a recipe, it is even better."

Louis, of Little Haseley, said: "It felt brilliant to win the prize. I was really excited when I realised I had won."

He added: "It only took about half an hour to make the recipe and it tasted great. I will cook it again over Christmas because no-one in our house likes Christmas pudding.

"I really like cooking puddings, but I don't want to be a chef. I will just keep cooking as a hobby."

Louis' mother, Becky Saunders, 37, said: "He did all of it himself, and took a long time getting the sauce to the right consistency. It was delicious."

She added: "He has always been interested in food. Maybe one day he will go on to be a gastronome."

Competition organiser June Leatheam, of the Life Education Centre, said: "Raymond was very thorough. We had a lot of great entries and he spent a lot of time trying to decide the best one."