Lee Hodge, 20, from Portreath

Dressed in their chef's whites, these youngsters are in training to become the best in the business.

The young men and women, all from Cornwall, are being trained to work at Jamie Oliver's new Fifteen restaurant in Watergate Bay, Newquay.

The 20 students have already been working hard to hone their culinary skills. And in just a few short months, they will work at Fifteen Cornwall when it opens in May. It is the first of Jamie Oliver's 15 restaurants to be unveiled outside London.

The chef, well-known for his crusade to improve school dinners, opened the first Fifteen restaurant in 2002. Based in Hoxton, it was inspired by the television chef's desire to help underprivileged young people forge themselves a successful career. Fifteen Cornwall will follow the same format.

Trainee Lee Hodge, 20, from Portreath on the North Cornwall coast, described the training as a "golden opportunity to succeed in life".

He said: "I'm so thankful that I've been given this opportunity and I'm really going to work hard to achieve the best possible outcome I can and make my friends and family proud. You only get one life and you've got to take every opportunity."

Selected from more than 300 applicants, the 20 trainees were among a shortlist of 150 who faced interviews and selection exercises before taken on in late December. Aged between 16 and 24, they have been recruited from all over Cornwall and are currently undergoing a 12-week intensive training course at Cornwall College before they start work in the Fifteen Cornwall kitchen at the end of April.

Trainee Emily Ratcliffe, 19, from Launceston, North Cornwall said: "I was really speechless when I was selected. All I could say was 'wow'. I couldn't believe it was really happening."