AT JUST 16 years old rising chef Luke Thomas has already worked with TV cooks Heston Blumenthal and Gary Rhodes and has cooked for Prince Charles.

Now the award-winning youngster from Connah’s Quay is set to start work full-time at the five-star Chester Grosvenor Hotel in October but he first has some important appointments to keep.

He will appear at the Mold Food Conference of Friday, September 24 before taking part in the Strictly Come Dining charity event in London the following day.

Luke, who recently passed his GCSEs, said: “At the Mold Food Conference I am doing breakfast canapes with produce from Hawarden Farm Shop. I’ll be using local produce to show what we have to offer. I’m really looking forward to it. To get involved with things locally is important.”

And Luke has already set his sights on becoming a record breaker as he wants to become the youngest chef to win a prestigious Michelin Star.

The current record-holder achieved the feat aged 22.

Luke said: “Being a chef is something I took to. It has always been a passion. It is what I want to be doing. My ultimate aim is to be the youngest person to win a Michelin Star.”

He was able to follow his dream thanks to Deeside College’s 14 to 19 Pathways project which helped him juggle schoolwork, college and working at the Chester Grosvenor.

Luke won FutureChef 2009 at aged 15 and has won the Active Kids Get Cooking competition was the start, when he beat 10,000 high school pupils across the UK.

He said: “My parents are very proud. I just get on with it. My friends are very supportive. I’m doing really well with sponsorship as well. I have had plates and knives delivered It has been like Christmas morning. It is fantastic to have people help me out.”