Pupils will be taking over the running of an award-winning restaurant in Sidford for one night only to host a charity dinner

Andy Witheridge from The Salty Monk has agreed to let Year 11 catering students from The King’s School in Ottery loose in his kitchen and dining room.

The school has been running a restaurant competition for three years, where teams of students cook and serve parents and teaching staff.

This year Mr Witheridge offered to help out with revision and teaching sessions for the students, who were invited to his restaurant in February.

A spokesman for The King’s said he and his wife were so impressed by the four course meal they were served they offered the students the opportunity to come and use The Salty Monk as the venue for this year’s ‘Restaurant For One Night Only’.

The Ottery academy’s head of catering Deborah Capon said: “The idea is not only to raise awareness of the work we do at The King’s School, but also the profile of food as a valuable and creditable subject for all.”

The school hope this is the beginning of an annual event where its catering students can get a real life experience of cooking their dishes in a professional kitchen for a large number of guests they will never have met.

The spokesman for The King’s said it decided to make it a charity event, and will be donating money to The Baton and The Devon Free Wheelers, and also to support links with its partner school in Ethiopia.

Amongst the guests at the dinner later this year will be Michelin-starred chef and vice chairman of master chefs of Great Britain, Peter Gorton.