YOUNG masterchefs from a Port secondary school have proved themselves ‘burger kings’ after their mouthwatering creation made the running for a national award.

First year pupils from St Stephen’s High have cooked up a storm with a chilli steak and mushroom burger which has landed them a spot in the final of the Scotch Butchers Club competition.

Judges will now hold a final taste test at the competition at the Royal Highland Show before choosing a winner.

Pupil Lauren Tracey and her classmates Emily Wilson, Rian McGarrigle and Dean Ellis, are thrilled that their burger has been such a sizzling success.

She said: “We’re all very proud to make it to the final.

“We want to thank our teacher Mrs Taylor for putting so much time and effort into this for us. It would be amazing to win.”

As part of the challenge, the pupils came up with the name for their burger — ‘Chilli-ing on the Clyde’ — after researching the history of their town.

The students were then split into eight teams and Drew McKenzie, who owns Robert Alexander Butchers, alongside Sandra Bell from West College Scotland, came up to the school to choose the team with the best burger recipe.

Drew then worked with the winning group to develop their ideas by cooking a variety of different burgers before inviting them to his shop to cook their winning creation.

He told the Tele: “The whole competition is designed to allow butchers to go into the schools and speak on an informal basis and point them in the right direction about what meat is and what it’s all about.”

Kathryn Taylor, the school’s principal teacher of health and food technology, said the ‘My Town, My Burger’ competition — run by Quality Meat Scotland — is has been ‘brilliant’ for the youngsters.

She said: “Drew has been very helpful by sharing all his knowledge and by giving the pupils the opportunity to make a variety of burgers.”

Almost 250 entries were submitted for the contest and the Port pupils will travel through to the competition final in Edinburgh today.