STUDENTS at a Basingstoke college are cooking up a storm after a Michelin Star chef was appointed to train them.

Phil Storey, 30, has joined the hospitality and catering department at Basingstoke College of Technology, and is the first Michelin Star chef to be appointed by the college.

Mr Storey was awarded the prestigious accolade while working at his restaurant the Chesil Rectory, in Winchester, which he was in the process of selling when the opportunity to take up a full-time lecturing post at BCOT arose.

Since January, he has been passing his expertise to the college's wannabe chefs.

"I am enjoying teaching very much," said Phil. "It is good to be able to share my experience of working in a restaurant with the students."

The Michelin Star system appeared in 1931 for the first time, and has changed little, if at all, since that time.

Anonymous inspectors rate restaurants using an unpublished set of criteria. An inspector reveals his identity to the chef only after his meal so that he may inspect the kitchen and the other facilities not normally visited by diners.

The criterion used by inspectors as to whether a restaurant obtains one or more stars is also somewhat of a mystery.

It is widely believed that the first star is based on a restaurant's food quality, with additional stars awarded for incremental increases in quality of service, dining room decoration, linen, cutlery and china, expense of ingredients, a more extensive selection of cheese, and the size and quality of the wine cellar. The stars are awarded as much to the chef as to the restaurant.

There will be a chance for Basingstoke residents to sample Mr Storey's cooking on Wednesday, May 5, when he will be working with Level 3 hospitality and catering students to prepare a mouth-watering six-course meal.

The evening starts at 6.30pm for 7pm, and tickets are priced at £30 per head.

For reservations contact the Robert Newman Restaurant on 01256 306306.