Local Chef Matthew Hodkin makes it to BBC's MasterChef

Matthew Hodkin (29) beat thousands of culinary experts to gain a place on MasterChef: The Professionals and cooked in front of renowned chefs Michel Roux Jr and Monica Galetti.

As the game season is well underway Matt let’s us in on his latest pheasant dish.

Dish name: Roast pheasant breast, pheasant and date sausage, celeriac mash, barley, caramelised sprouts and madeira jus.

Serves two

One whole pheasant

100g sausage meat

100g sage

100g dates

Four rashers smoked streaky bacon

Four sprouts

200g barley

One litre chicken stock

Two whole nutmeg

First remove the legs from the pheasant and place in a roasting tray covered with water, one chopped carrot, thyme and garlic, and put in a pre-heated oven on 160 degrees centigrade and braise for three hours,

then remove the breasts from the crown and set aside.

Roast off the carcass with garlic chopped carrot, thyme rosemary, celery and leek (one of each all roughly chopped).

Once roasted place in a pan topped with cold water and simmer for four hours ,this will be the base for your sauce.

Then chop the dates and soak in brandy for 10 minutes then drain.

Next flake the meat off the braised pheasant legs and mix with the sausage meat, grate in the nutmeg, add the chopped sage, and add the soaked dates.

Season with salt and cracked blackpepper.

Shape in to sausage shapes and wrap each sausage in two rashers of bacon, roast off in a 200 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Blanch the barley in the chicken stock for 15 minutes strain and add one sautéed shallot salt and pepper and set aside.

Roughly chop the celeriac and poach in milk until soft, drain off the milk and reserve.

Pass the cooked celeriac through a masher then add a little of the milk.

Season and set aside.

Peel the outer layers from the sprouts and discard.

Blanch the sprouts in boiling water for three minutes, strain, then cut in half, caramelise in a hot pan flat side down until golden brown.

Once your base for the sauce has been simmering strain it and discard the veg and carcass place the liquid in another pan and reduce by half, then add 50ml of madeira and reduce again.

Then add 10ml of cream to thicken the sauce.

To assemble, place the cooked barley in the centre of the plate, a quenelle of the celeriac cream next to it and the leg sausage next to that (in a circular shape).

Place the cooked pheasant breast on the barley and place the sprouts around each plate, then finish with the sauce.

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