SOUTH Cumbria chef Simon Rogan has fallen just short in his efforts to reach the final of BBC's Great British Christmas Menu.

Mr Rogan, owner of L'Enclume and Rogan & Co in Cartmel, took third place in the semi-final for both the dessert and petit four dishes.

He was up against stiff competition in Lisa Allen, who has three dishes in the final banquet, Niall Keating, and Tommy Banks, who took the final slot for the petit four dish.

They were all competing to be able to cook at the banquet for the key workers who have been highlighted as the heroes during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Rogan said: "It has been great to be part of it and I feel honoured to be part of it and I will cherish these last couple of days. "I have enjoyed my time being back on the Great British Menu kitchen."

For his dessert dish, Mr Rogan had a deconstructed sticky toffee pudding garnished with herbs from his farm and nearby forest. Then for his petit four he had an 'essential angels pie-ce cream' which was featured his mince pie flavoured ice cream.

The latter went wrong as plating came to pass and he had to use his back-up batch of ice cream which did not have the firmness the judges would have liked which saw him marked down.

In the dessert round there was just no way anyone was going to beat Lisa Allen who got a perfect score for her snow globe dessert, which Mr Rogan himself admitted was the best dessert put forward.

The Mail: CONTESTANTS: Great British Christmas Menu. Pictured: Jason Atherton, Pip Lacey, Tom Barnes, Niall Keating, Tommy Banks, Alex Greene, Andi Oliver, Richard Bainbridge, Simon Rogan, Matt Gillan, James Cochran, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Tom Aikens.CONTESTANTS: Great British Christmas Menu. Pictured: Jason Atherton, Pip Lacey, Tom Barnes, Niall Keating, Tommy Banks, Alex Greene, Andi Oliver, Richard Bainbridge, Simon Rogan, Matt Gillan, James Cochran, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Tom Aikens.

Over the years, Great British Menu has honoured many heroes, from D-Day veterans and servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan to NHS staff.

Barrow's Tom Barnes is in the final and will be seen cooking in the banquet next week.

So, it is only fitting that the seven-part special Great British Christmas Menu centres around serving up a festive feast to some of the UK's keyworkers, who have played a huge part in keeping the country going over an incredibly difficult year.