Penarth's very own Georgia Sommerin will be appearing on the BBC's Great British Menu competition this year as the youngest contestant to ever take part.

Georgia Sommerin's biography on the Great British Chef's website states: ''Twenty-year-old Georgia from Penarth, Wales, is the youngest competitor ever on Great British Menu.

''Not to be underestimated, she's been working in a professional kitchen since the age of thirteen and full-time since 2016 under the watchful eye of her father, Michelin-starred chef James Sommerin.

"Initially, Georgia wanted to make some pocket money but she soon fell in love with cooking as a career and is now senior sous chef at Restaurant James Sommerin.

"Georgia is out to prove herself on her own terms with her classic cooking inspired by local Welsh produce. Her menu draws on some of her favourite books from her childhood."

James Sommerin, her father and the owner of the Sommerin Restaraunt in Penarth, states on his website: ''I have always hoped and wished that one of our girls would follow in my footsteps and that wish came true when our eldest daughter, Georgia, came to us after Christmas and said: "Dad, I'm not enjoying college, I've decided I want to be in the kitchen with you full time".

''I was over the moon, Georgia has worked with me part-time for a few years and is a natural you don't come across very often, certainly not at 17 years of age- we are very proud.''

Great British Menu is returning for its fifteenth series in 2020, with a new theme, new changes to how the competition works and a brigade of new chefs hoping to do their region proud.

The series will start on Wednesday 18 March. It will then run for nine weeks (eight regional heats and then the final), with hour-long episodes every Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a half-hour regional final every Friday.

The theme for this series is children's literature, as 2020 marks 150 years since the death of Charles Dickens, who wrote the first book to feature a child in the starring role with Oliver Twist.

Every Friday the judges (Oliver Peyton, Andi Oliver and Matthew Fort) will be joined by children's authors and novelists to help decide the best dish from each region.

The format has been changed for the 2020 competition with:

• More chefs: there will be four chefs competing in each regional heat instead of the usual three.

• More drama: the chef with the lowest score after cooking their starter and fish course will be sent home, without a chance to show off their main and dessert.

• More courses: in addition to the starter, fish, main and desserts, each chef will also create an amuse-bouche and pre-dessert palate cleanser, to give their menus a more contemporary tasting menu feel. Fish and main courses will be lighter as a result.

• A new presenter: Great British Menu has been without an on-screen presenter since its second season, but this year Susan Calman will be in the thick of it, talking to the chefs as they plate up and finding out what makes them tick.