THE head chef of a pub named after England’s first undisputed boxing champion will be hoping to outfight some of his opponents at the National Burger Awards this month.

Jack Bull, of the James Figg in Thame, will compete at the UK 2016 finals on February 24, aiming to become a champion himself.

The ale house is named after the famous fighter who is said to have lived in the building during the 18th century. His portrait now hangs at the bar.

Mr Bull’s tasty handmade burgers and the top notch 28-day dry-aged beef used in his special recipe helped earn the 25-year-old a spot along with 15 other chefs from across the country when they compete in a cook-off at the Islington Metal Works in London.

Mr Bull, who became head chef of the popular Thame watering hole in spring 2014, has carved out a reputation for the quality of his home-cooked food and his signature burgers – the pub’s best seller.

He said: “I eat out a lot and eat a lot of burgers, too.

“I honestly believe ours are better than many I get served in other pubs and restaurants and I think it’s down to the great ingredients and care that go into making them.

“We only use the best British beef from Royal Warrant holders Aubrey Allen, and we dedicate every Tuesday night to serving burgers.”

Mr Bull’s shortlisted recipe is an Aubrey Allen burger served in a brown, sugar bakery brioche bun, with Monterey Jack cheddar and Aubrey Allen smoked bacon, which he’ll cook for the British-bake-off style judging panel.

He will also face a technical burger challenge using ingredients given to him on the day to be in with a shot at the title and £1,000 cash prize.

He said: “I’m really proud of my burgers so when I found out about this competition to find the country’s best burger, I decided to go for it.

“Being chosen as a finalist was thrilling and now I can’t wait to cook for the judges to try to take the crown for best burger in the land.”

The James Figg, formerly the Abingdon Arms in Cornmarket street, was given a £150,000 makeover in 2009.

Tristan O’Hana, editor of Casual Dining Magazine, which hosts the awards, said: “The 2016 National Burger Awards finalists are an impressive group of chefs who clearly put a lot of time and effort into their burger recipes.

“To say it was difficult to choose a final 16 would be a huge understatement – who knows how our judges are going to decide the winner?”