On Wednesday 1st November Kirkcudbright Rotary in partnership with Kirkcudbright Academy held their annual Young Chef Competition.
17 year old S6 student Emma Craig took first place with 13 year old S3 pupil Maya Johnston (The Youngest person to enter this year.) coming a very close second.
Emma and Maya will now go through to the next round of the competition. The Rotary 1020 area finals are being held at Kirkcudbright Academy on Thurs 16th November. For the winners this stage is then followed by the district final and finally the national competitions.
The competition has been run locally for the past 10 years and is open to anyone aged between 11 to 17 year old. The four Academy pupils taking part, each cooked a themed two course meal for two, using local ingredients (Where Possible), all for under £10 per pupil paid to them by the Rotary Club.
Emma’s Scottish themed winning menu was : Chicken breast stuffed with Haggis, Savoury Cabbage and Fondant Potatoes. For dessert she served Chocolate Fondant with Ice cream and Raspberries.
Maya’s Love themed runner up menu was :Shallot, Asparagus and Smoked Pancetta Risotto served with Parmersan Crisps, followed by Indulgent Chocolate Fondant with a Quenelle of Clotted Cream and White Chocolate Encased Strawberries
This year once again, the event was co-sponsored by Castle MacLellan Foods Limited. They provided prize money and aprons bearing the Castle MacLellan logos.
All four students that entered the competition performed really well and for their efforts they were all presented with Rotary certificates. Third place was Lauren Burgess of S5. The prize for Best Table Setting went to Ellie Gibson of S3.
The Rotary Young Chef competition was designed to give young people the chance to show off their creative culinary talents, to promote healthy eating and to learn important life skills.
The young chefs are all judged on their healthy menus, planning and organisational skills, hygiene, preparation skills and of course, the taste and presentation of the final dishes.
The prizes were presented by Kirkcudbright Rotary Club President Paul Tebay. As in previous years, Rotary worked closely with the Home Economics Department at Kirkcudbright Academy, and particular thanks must go to Nicola Cluckie, Home Economics teacher, for her enthusiastic and tireless support of the event.
The competition was judged by local Kirkcudbright chefs Paul Wilkinson and Nick Morris who both have establishments in the town.
Results:
1st Place = Emma Craig (S6)
2nd Place = Maya Johnston (S3)
3rd Place = Lauren Burgess (S5)
4th Place = Ellie Gibson (S3)
The judges were both enormously impressed by the dishes produced by the students. They commented that their meals would not have been out of place in many good restaurants. They also praised the Academy Home Economics Dept for continuing to develop the now well established tradition of talented young chefs.
In addition to the prizes awarded to them on the day, Emma and Maya will now also get the opportunity to spend the day working with the Development Chef in the kitchen at Castle MacLellan Foods.
Congratulations to all those who took part!
