Young Chef Competition

The first round of the local Rotary Young Chef competition was held at Llantwit Major Comprehensive School on Tuesday the 15th January 2019.  The competition requires the young chefs to prepare, in two hours, a healthy three course meal for two people comprising starter, main and dessert courses for less than £20.  This year there were more entrants than at any previous competition with 6 girls and 3 boys keen to demonstrate their skills. 

Prior to the cooking phase the young chefs had prepared a detailed costing of the ingredients along with a comprehensive work programme.

The table layout and food presentation by all the contestants were excellent. The menus prepared by the young chefs were varied, mouth-watering and challenging.  The judge this year was Jon Thiel of Chartwells Independent.  Chartwells provide the Catering Services at Atlantic College. Jon, a very experienced professional caterer, was very impressed by the excellent standard achieved by all the young contestants and found it difficult to decide on a winner. After much deliberation Lewis Ingram and Jasmine Holland were chosen to represent Llantwit Major Rotary Club at the second round of the competition to be held at Cowbridge Comprehensive School on the 24th January.  Jon was so impressed with the standard achieved by every participant that he arranged a visit to Atlantic College where a guided tour of the Castle with particular emphasis on catering proved very informative and enjoyable. 

The Chefs’ teacher, Rachel Newbrook considered the competition an excellent opportunity for budding chefs to show case their talents and creative flare. She was delighted that they all produced excellent fare in what was a challenging time limit.  She was very proud of them all. 

 Rotarian Gareth Rees, President of Llantwit Major Rotary Club, thanked the young chefs, their teacher Rachel Newbrook and the judge Jon Thiel for all the hard work done in preparation for the competition and wished the young chefs the best of good fortune for the future.  The competition was sponsored by Mr Ian Hunt of FILCO who has been a staunch supporter of the competition over many years.

The Young Chef Competition is one of many well established and successful competitions promoted by Rotary International in Britain and Ireland (Rotary GB&I) and is open to students in full time education between 11 and 17 years of age. It is a four-stage National competition designed to support and encourage development of catering skills.