Rotary Young Chef of the Year Competition

 Rhys Whiten (Year 8 SMH) and Corrine Brown (Year 11 SH) both from East House competed in the District Final of the Rotary Young Chef of the Year competition on 1st March in Stafford.

They had already both won their school heats in January and had 45 minutes to prepare and serve a healthy main meal for two people, costing under £6.00.
Both of the students had prepared themselves well, producing an attractive recipe card and full costing before the event.

Rhys was in the second heat of the Intermediate competition (Year 7 – 9). He ‘wowed’ the judges with free range stuffed chicken breast with feta and mushrooms, roasted mediterranean vegetables and a cous cous salad. He scored 93 out of a possible 100 marks and was given credit for a creating a paupiette (rolled chicken). He was crowned District Winner for the Intermediate Level and will now go on to compete in the Regional Final at University College of Food in Birmingham on March 13th where he will prepare a three course meal for under £14 in two hours.

Corrine took part in the senior competition (Y10 – 11). She made Parma wrapped chicken with a red wine sauce, served with potato wedges and a rocket salad. The competition was extremely close. She performed well on the day and was happy with the comments she received from the judges. Unfortunately, she did not win but should be very happy with how far she got in this year’s competition.

“Both students are a credit to the school. They were well prepared, used their time effectively and produced fantastic dishes in the District Final. It was a tense environment with about 30 competitors overall. The students remained calm and worked well under pressure!  Rhys is an enthusiastic chef and tries his best when cooking. He deserves his place in the Regional Final and I wish him all the best!”   Said Miss Daragheh, organizer and subject teacher.

In support of Rhys, Grove Catering will be reproducing his menu this Friday and serving to students over the lunchtime period.

•                          Stuffed Chicken with Cous Cous and roasted vegetables.

Cooking among young people is a growing interest and a valuable life skill and this popular and exciting Rotary competition sees young people putting their culinary and creative skills to the test. The eventual winners will receive some excellent prizes and trophies and the grand winner will enjoy a trip to Italy courtesy of sponsors Felippo Berio.

Congratulations to Rhys on this tremendous achievement and Good Luck for Saturday!