Young cooks whet the tastebuds in Kent Young Chef Awards finals
Budding Jamies and Delias put their culinary
skills to the test in a cook-off to find the best young chef
in Kent.
Eight students, aged 11 to 16, from
across the county took part in the live final of the Produced in
Kent event on Friday, held at Thanet College.
They were given two hours to cook
and serve their original main course recipes, featuring seasonal
Kentish produce.
The junior section was won by Alice
Browning, from Chatham, for her Romney Marsh lamb with chocolate
peppermint sauce.
The senior section was James Dye,
from Swanscombe, who also cooked a rack of lamb.
Download the
winning recipes by clicking here - requires Microsoft
Word
Among the junior runners up was
Ellie Garety-Jones, from Swadelands School in Lenham, who cooked
rack of lamb with roast seasonal vegetables and herby potato
cake.
Richard Phillips – who has three successful restaurants in
Kent and is a regular chef on TV’s Ready Steady Cook – was joined
on the judging panel by Roger Phillips, head of catering and
hospitality at Thanet College, and Julie Monkman, manager of
Produced in Kent.
“The standard of cooking and
presentation was absolutely fantastic,” said Richard.
“The competitors have proved today
that they are well ahead of their years in terms of what they have
produced and achieved here. All the entrants chose a superb quality
of local ingredients, and choosing the best quality, local
ingredients is absolutely the key to creating an outstanding
dish.”
He invited all the finalists to
spend an afternoon in his restaurant kitchens as a bonus prize at
the end of the event.
All the parents received a bottle
of Chapel Down sparkling wine and the two winners walked away with
a Produced in Kent hamper each.
The event was hosted by Art Attack
TV show host Neil Buchanan and coverage was broadcast throughout
the day on kmfm. It was sponsored by
food supplier kff.
The event is expected to run again
next year. Details will be announced at the beginning of the autumn
term in 2010. The KM Group and kff will also support the 2010
event.
All the finalists recipes can be
seen or downloaded from the Produced in Kent
website.
Monday, November 30 2009
Rating: 5/5 (1 votes cast!)