SWINDON'S top curry chef, Wahidur Rahman, was narrowly beaten to first place in the National Curry Chef of the Year South West regional final.

Wahidur, from Curry Cottage in Rodbourne, holds the title of Swindon's Curry Chef of the Year. But yesterday he came came second in the regional contest, behind Raj Mujibal Hussain, from the Taj Mahal Restaurant in Guernsey.

A philosophical Wahidur, 27, said afterwards: "I enjoyed competing anyway. It's been a good experience.

"Even though we didn't win, we can be proud of what we have achieved."

Wahidur was up against two chefs from Wales and one from Portsmouth in yesterday's live cook-off at Swindon College.

The chefs had just one hour to present the judges with a curry main dish, side dish and bread or rice accompaniment.

Wahidur chose to create the same dish which triumphed in the Swindon final, Chadpuri Elisha.

The Bangladeshi river fish was fried in garlic, ginger and onion and cooked with a mixture of Indian spices.

He said he had subtly changed the mix of spice since the Swindon heat and added a covering of bread crumbs and butter to the recipe.

The winning chef won over the team of three judges with spicy tamarind chicken and cashew nut accompanied by aromatic aubergine.

Shirley Solanki, Swindon College Indian cookery tutor, said her personal favourite was the Lamb Bahir created by the Shilan curry house from New Town in Wales.

She said: "The blend of spices was out of this world. It tasted very, very fresh."

She added: "This competition really seems to bring the best out of the various restaurants."

Eunice Salmon, from Swindon Environmental Services, which organised the contest, said the Swindon Curry Competition will be running again next year.

The winning chef from the South West heat will now go to Harrogate for the national final in September and the chance to win £3,000.