Celebrated local chef Mark Hix MBE shared his knowledge, experiences and cooked with students when he visited the Sir John Colfox Academy.

Mark who grew up in West Bay and attended Colfox, showed students how to make a range of seafood dishes, while also sharing his insights into the best routes into the business.

Mark, who met Year 10 students who are studying for their food and nutrition GCSE, said: "There are so many opportunities in hospitality, it is a great business to get into young. And whatever you go on to do in life, learning to cook is important and a useful time skill, even if you don't go into the business."

Mark demonstrated how to prepare scallops and how to pan fry them, before sharing them with the class. Some students tried scallops for the first time.

He then showed the students how to fillet fresh seabass, which he served ceviche style marinated in lime, chilli and coriander, explaining that because the produce was so fresh and local, it didn't need cooking. He finished the demonstration by filleting some fresh plaice, which he pan-fried. Everyone enjoyed trying the dishes.

Anna Burridge, teacher of food and nutrition, said: "Our students enjoyed speaking to Mark and tasting his amazing food, which was delicious and also looked wonderful.

"They were interested to hear how he'd started at Colfox like them, before rising to the heights of the business and setting up his own restaurants. As well as sharing his story, he also gave them valuable advice about the many different opportunities available in the hospitality industry."

Mark shared his love of local Dorset produce and brought in some sea spinach picked locally for everyone to try. He also entertained the students by telling them why he chose domestic science at Colfox.

He said: "When I was at Colfox, many years ago, it was the first time girls were allowed to do metal work and the boys were allowed to study domestic science, as it was called then, so we did domestic science as we wanted to be in a class of girls, but the thing was they all chose metal work."

Since Mark's visit, Simon Gray from the Fish Heroes Programme, which promotes seafood cookery in schools, has offered to donate all the ingredients used, so students can have another go at making Mark's dishes. As well as giving up his time, Mark also generously offered to donate some of his cookery books to the Colfox library.