FROM the moment Alex Olney could kneel on a stool to cut out gingerbread men with his mum he has loved cooking.

The 14-year-old is never far from the kitchen at his Cricklade home and has dreamt of meeting his idol - celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

But while he was at the Good Food Show in Birmingham he not only met the Naked Chef, but he was plucked from a packed audience to cook with him as well.

The stunned Bradon Forest School pupil says it was one of the best experiences of his life.

"We went along to the show at the weekend just to sample all the tasters and find out about new recipes," said Alex, who studies food technology at school.

"We went to the theatre section and you could watch Jamie cooking.

"Then he said he wanted two people from the audience to come up on stage to cook with him.

"He looked straight at me and said come up and then asked a girl. I was very nervous but I was so pleased. This isn't a normal thing to happen.

"I had to help him make a warm duck salad.

"I was absolutely petrified while I was cooking.

"There was a lot of pressure because Jamie was watching everything I did and there were 2,000 people watching me in the audience.

"But it really was fantastic.

"Once the meal was prepared I sat at a table on stage with the girl to eat it. Then Jamie made two more dishes, sea bass and rib eye steak.

"They were beautiful, they really were.

"While we were eating Jamie kept coming over to the table, giving me dating tips and how to chat up girls.

"He was really nice and afterwards he thanked me for helping and gave me a frying pan from his professional range and a signed T-shirt and book."

Alex cooks for his family at least once a week and one of his specialities is pancakes.

And after his extraordinary meeting, Alex is setting his sights on becoming just like his hero.

"Jamie has done lots of good work for school dinners.

"Even at our school the hot meals have got better since his campaign.

"He's a really brilliant chef."

Alex will be getting some more hands on experience at The Vale Hotel in Cricklade in the near future.

And his mum is thrilled her boy got his chance to shine.

"It was brilliant watching him up on stage," said Gill, a 46-year-old library assistant.

"He's my son so I'm going to say he's a good cook, but he really is."