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Choices
Young Chef of the Year 2007

On Wednesday the 17th of January 2007, the final of the “Choices Young Chef of the Year 2007” competition was held in the training kitchen at the Tudor lodge restaurant.

The contestants competing in the final were:

• Sean Davies from Greenhill School,
• Jess Griffiths from Pembroke School
• Carla Allen from the Neyland Behaviour Support Service (BSS)

Jamie Bessant and Rhydian Batchelor, on the Choices project, delivered by PRP Training Company, tutor each of these students.

The competition was open to all catering students that were on the project. Each school group had a “cook off” with the winner progressing onto the final. The “cook off stages” was close, with only a few marks deciding the winner from each group. All the food produced was of a good standard and the students that competed should hold their heads high with pride.

In the final, the students had to produce 2 portions of a 2-course meal, consisting of a starter and main, or a main and dessert. They each had an hour and a half, to produce their food. The first course was to be plated up on the hour and the 2nd course to be plated on the hour and a half mark. If the students ran over time, they would lose 1 mark for every 2 minutes they went over.

The students were judged on work method, workmanship, creativity, presentation, taste and flavour of their food, menu balance and the range of cooking skills they demonstrated.

The judges were:
• Mike Baker Tudor lodge, Restaurant Manager
• Emmaline Asher Tudor lodge, Restaurant Head Chef
• Ralph Pitts Springboard UK.

All of the students in the final worked hard and were well organized. It was Jess and Carla’s first cooking competition and they showed no signs of nervousness.

Sean produced sweet chilli and ginger chicken spring roll on a bed of mixed leaf lettuce as his first course. For the main course he produced a mushroom and leek Wellington, with a garlic cream sauce, in which the judges commented on how well the flavours combined and that he was brave, in a competition, to have a vegetarian meal on his menu and that he had pulled it off, as it was of a high quality.

Jess, for her 1st course, created asparagus wrapped in bacon, served with a béarnaise sauce, chicken coated in bacon on a potato rosti, with a peppered mushroom sauce. The judges were impressed with, not only the standard of the dish, but also how the chicken was cooked to perfection, as it was succulent.
	Jess also impressed the judges with the choice of sauce on her menu, as they appreciated how much of a complex sauce that she had selected.

Carla was the only student to have selected to produce a main course and a dessert on her menu. For her main course, she had chosen to cook chicken, stuffed with a wild mushroom farce, served on a bed of asparagus, with a melting cheese sauce, followed by a white chocolate truffle torte with berry compote. The judges were impressed with the asparagus as it was cooked to perfection. But, what impressed the judges the most was her dessert - not only the outstanding presentation, but also the subtle balance of flavours that were within the dish.

It was a tough decision for the judges to select a winner. The chair of judges, Ralph Pitts, commented on how he was impressed with all of the dishes produced on the day and that all of the students had impressed him with their food hygiene skills and knowledge. But, there could only be one winner and that winner, was Carla Allen.

Choices Tutor and Head chef of the Tudor Lodge Restaurant Jamie Bessant, said that he was proud of all of his students and that they should be proud of themselves, as they had worked hard to achieve their place in the final and that the finalists showed good character to perform under pressure, as he knows what it’s like to compete in competitions, which is not easy at all, so Well Done Everyone.

Carla was presented with a shield and a certificate. She also won a cookbook that was provided by Springboard UK.

She will now go on to represent Choices in other catering competitions in the future, so watch this space.

Telephone: 01646 623780 or Email: enquiries@prp-training.co.uk