Rotary Young Chef Competition 2025

Ali Bennett from Birchwood High School has been crowned Bishop’s Stortford Rotary Young Chef for 2025 at the annual Young Chef competition.  The runner up was Lola Zheng from The Hertfordshire and Essex High School. Ali Bennett will go forward to represent Bishop’s Stortford at the District Rotary Young Chef competition next year.

10 teams of budding chefs from local secondary schools took part in the competition held at Birchwood High School on 19 June.  Each team had to produce a 2 course healthy meal for two for £18 in 90 minutes – quite a challenge! The winners of the junior competition were a team from Saint Nicholas School, comprising Teddy Thomas, Ayden Rhemtulla and Raees Rhemtulla, who created a delicious Italian meal of lasagne with freshly made pasta and orange polenta cake. The team from Birchwood High School, comprising Ali Bennett, Sophia Coxall and Isabelle Earley, won the intermediate competition with “A Taste of Japan” which included sushi with fresh made Japanese mayonnaise and chicken katsu curry.

The expert judging panel, which included Sanjay Kumar, Sous Chef at Novotel, Stansted, and Daniel Harris, Head Chef of Host in Bishop’s Stortford, were very impressed with the standard of cooking, the team work and the range of skills demonstrated. Barry Bridgen, chairman of the judging panel, commented, “It was like a mini master chef competition – all the teams were working against the clock to demonstrate a range of skills and produce interesting, delicious meals and the judges had a very difficult decision to make. We congratulate the winning teams and this year’s Young Chef, Ali Bennett, and we wish Ali well in the District competition.”