RALLY driver and chef Scott Partridge has headed back to the sunshine after finding the right ingredient at the Wales Rally GB.

Partridge joined forces with his former co-driver Chris Ridge, from Ludlow, in a Subaru Impreza to finish 25th overall in North Wales.

Partridge, a former Ludlow Castle member, called up Ridge at the 11th hour after his regular co-driver, Alex Lee, was involved in an accident.

But racing in a former World Rally Championship car once driven by Alister McRae, is a far cry from Partridge’s other passion.

The 37-year-old works as a chef on a yacht owned by NCP car park tycoon Sir Donald Gosling and has served guests such as Prince Charles, Star Wars film mogul George Lucas, pop star Cheryl Cole and actor Michael Caine. He has arrived back in Antigua, in the Caribbean.

“I am contracted to Sheikh Mohamed, who has a new 60-metre super yacht in the making and, previously, I was his head chef for four years,” said Partridge.

“I will be joining the new boat when it’s launched in 2015 as the head chef.

Partridge was delighted to squeeze in the GB Wales Rally – 12 months ago he was lucky to escape unharmed after crashing out on the first day at more than 100mph.“This year’s stages hadn’t been used for a long time and were the best I have ever rallied on,” he said.

“We managed a nice solid result, brought the car home in one piece and were very happy because many other crews either crashed on the slippery stages or had mechanical issues.”

He added: “It was like Chris had never been out of the car and we gelled straight away.”

“My favourite stage was Penllyn which was only a short four or five-mile stage, but was incredibly fast.

“We were in fifth gear at 115 mph down a tree-lined gravel road.

“Looking back, it was madness – 80 to 90mph on a motorway seems fast enough.

“I first entered the Wales Rally GB in 2011 with Chris and we came 33rd overall.

“My passion is 50% food and 50% rallying. You can have more experiences in just 10 minutes in a rally car than for the whole of 12 months put together.”

He thanked Bullet Polish Europe, Muscat Yachting and Mad About Pies for supporting their race.

Partridge has a passion for food, which stems back to his teenage years.

He has worked in Hereford's Merton Hotel, the Green Man in Fownhope, the Bunch of Carrots in Hampton Bishop and TV chef Phil Vickery’s Broadway-based Lygon Michelin star restaurant.

He splits his time between living in Hereford and working as chef on the luxury yacht.

“I am pretty good at curries, but pâtisseries are my main thing.

“I miss the UK seasons – when you are abroad you are always chasing the sun.

“I have been with my girlfriend Gemma Weyman, from Mitcheldean for 11 years, but because I am away a lot, we don’t get much time to see each other. She works on a yacht called Cyan and we bump into each other in the Caribbean.”

He added: “I love travelling and I love the lifestyle and it can be nice having a day off and spending it in Monaco.

“We have had The Black Eyed Peas and Cheryl Cole come on board. They sang for us, which was fun.”