TWO airmen from North Yorkshire will cook in front of millions of people tonight as part of a television competition.

Ian Mark, 23, and James Wilmott, 24, are both RAF senior aircraftmen and chefs at RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

They agreed to test their skills in a new Channel 5 show called Street Market Chef.

The show pits together local chefs in an open air cook-off using fresh local ingredients in cities around the country. The pair were filmed earlier this year in the centre of York. Squadron Leader Angela Unsworth, officer commanding the Station Services Squadron at Linton, said: “James and Ian were asked to participate and jumped at the chance.

“They were quite nervous at first but it was a fantastic opportunity for them to show everybody what they can do.”

Flight Lieutenant Dave Williams, from RAF Linton-on-Ouse, said: “It was great to watch Ian and James showing their skills to a wider audience.

“On the day there was a good crowd of locals and tourists, and the Channel 5 audience will be around two million. When I told Ian and James how many people would be watching the show they went a bit pale.”

All eight of the shows in the series were filmed around the country with the Food Standards Agency, and hope to promote fresh, healthy and locally sourced food, and the importance of using farmers’ markets around the UK.

Ian prepared a festive fillet of pork stuffed with apple and cranberries, while James cooked pork with a langoustine and olive salad, using ingredients from farmers’ markets in North Yorkshire.

Neither Ian nor James could say how they fared in the competition, but to see how they get on, watch Channel 5 today at 7.30pm.