Valentine's surprise as man wins £10,000

Mike Judges cooked his way into first place after reaching the final round of the Valentine’s competition, which was launched by Covers Home Ideas, in partnership with Spirit FM.

Entrants to the competition were asked which celebrity they would most like to share a meal with in their new kitchen and why. Mike’s chosen answer of George Clooney, along with his explanation, stood out to the judges.

He said: ‘We’ve lived in our house for two years and have done some building work to prep for a new kitchen. The room is currently best described as ‘rustic’.

‘We are still finalising the kitchen we want to buy and my wife is getting rather stressed about the situation. I frankly owe her a date with the Clooney by way of apology!’

Mike was pitted against fellow finalist Andrew Merrett from Littlehampton, who had chosen Harry Potter author J K Rowling.

The duo battled it out in a test of culinary prowess where they were asked to cook a sirloin steak and warm salad, which was first demonstrated by Head Chef of Goodwood Hotel, Mark Forman.

The final dishes were judged for taste, seasoning, presentation, contestant’s ability to follow instructions and being served on time. Along with Mark, fellow judge Rob Bongard from Sheraton Kitchens, decided Mike had just edged ahead with his dish and was announced the winner.

Commenting on his cook-off triumph, Mike said: ‘My wife has been wanting to refurbish and modernise our kitchen for so long, and I am over the moon that I can now finally do this for her.

‘I really can’t believe I got to the final, let alone won. It really is the best Valentine’s present I could give – thank you so much to Covers Home Ideas for making it so special.’