Young Chef Final 2013

Saturday 9^th February saw the final of this year’s  local Young Chef competition organised by Welwyn GC Rotary Club for Mid Herts Rotary.  This  first stage in a national competition and saw twenty four competitors from six schools submit their menus for a healthy two-course meal for two people to a budget of £12.  The competitors each received a £12 voucher from Waitrose WGC to cover the cost of their ingredients.

The competitors and judges

The four judges were Piers Lyon from the White Hart Hotel and Restaurant in Welwyn, Choon Teoh from the Hakalok Restaurant at Shoplands, Gemma Hollis from Waitrose WGC and Michael Burn from John Lewis Welwyn. They selected those menus that they would like to see cooked and the most favoured six came to Monks Walk School to demonstrate their skills..  They were Zoe Antoniou and Lewis Beat of Chancellors School in Brookmans Park,  Daisy Parker and Alfie Tilley for Monks Walk School, Sam Bailey fom Onslow St Audreys in Hatfield and Reece Frost from Sir Frederic Osborn School.

The winner and runner-up at work

Two hours preparing and cooking time allowed the judges to observe the competitors skills, organisation and food hygiene and at the end they sampled the finished dishes.  An audience of families, teachers and Rotarians also got the opportunity to view and sample the array of excellent dishes.

It was a very tight and high quality competition and after careful deliberation the winner was Lewis Beat’s Lamb Kofte with tomato rice, spinach and parmesan salad with home-made hummus  and a dessert of Peach and Rosemary Tarte Tatin.  In second place was Sam Bailey with Salmon and Spinach En Croute and Hot Chocolate Fondant and in third place was last year’s winner Zoe Antoniou with Sea Bass and a trio of desserts.

Some of the completed dishes

Prizes sponsored by John Lewis Welwyn and certificates were presented to the finalists and Lewis will now go on to the District Final and will compete against other aspiring chefs from Beds, Herts and Bucks at Hitchin College on 23^rd February.  Welwyn GC Rotary Club would like to thank all those who helped in this event, Waitrose WGC, John Lewis Welwyn and Monks Walk School and the head of food, Kathy Quirk, for hosting the event.

The next events being organised by Mid Herts Rotary are the Young Photographer and Young Writer competitions.  There is also the Technology Tournament team event on Wednesday 6^th March at Oaklands College Welwyn GC campus.