A PEEBLES chef is heading for the Olympics this year...the Culinary Olympics that is.

Robbie Penman, who works at Peebles Hydro, is one of six top chefs across the country to be selected for the Scotland Olympic squad and was also appointed team manager.

The Scots will be competing for gold against 30 other countries in the marathon cooking event in Germany this October.

With an eight strong back-up team on hand, the cooking crew aim to showcase the very best of Scottish cuisine and will rustle up a carefully constructed menu - which will include specially selected Scotch Lamb - at the Olympic event in Erfurt.

The world-famous competition, which takes place every four years, was first held in Frankfurt in 1900 and is now regarded as the biggest, most traditional culinary exhibition and the Mecca for cooks and patissiers worldwide.

It will run from October 22-25.

The Federation of Chefs Scotland is co-ordinating the team and chose the very best from all sectors of the Scottish hospitality industry. The chefs will have their skills and nerves tested amid the frenzied atmosphere of the event, which sees nine kitchens running simultaneously.

Kevin MacGillivray, culinary team director with the Federation of Chefs Scotland, said: “This competition is the pinnacle for any chef - competing at this level, on the world stage and having the opportunity to showcase some of Scotland’s fantastic produce."

The 2016 Scotland team: 
Team Manager Robbie Penman, Peebles Hydro Hotel and Spa; Team Captain, Orry Shand - Head Chef at the Chester Hotel; Bruce Lawrence, Entier Aberdeen; Darren Seggie, Head Chef at Stravaigin Glasgow; and Pastry Chefs Andrew Mackay from the Turnberry Hotel Resort, and Melissa Wood from the Andrew Fairlie Restaurant in Gleneagles.