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The three chefs are halfway through their heat, and the pressure is mounting. Once again, they each serve a unique take on the brief celebrating British invention and innovation.

Among the mains are a venison dish in honour of the only British woman to win a Nobel prize in science, a homage to West Midlands manufacturing, and two layered chocolate dishes – one using edible paper as a tribute to Samuel Johnson, the other featuring an ingenious chocolate cross-section of a road inspired by the invention of smooth tarmac. But whose inventions in the kitchen will veteran judge Lisa Goodwin-Allen prefer?

Only two contestants will proceed to Friday’s judging and have a chance to represent the central region at the regional finals.