Young Chef Competition - Two candidates from East Grinstead reach District Final

Young Chef Competition 2018/19

Two candidates from East Grinstead reach District Final

Two young students from Sackville School in East Grinstead won first and second places in a Rotary Young Chef local semi-final in Oxted on 19^th January and will now proceed to the Rotary District final on 2nd March at South Thames College Morden. They were sponsored by East Grinstead Meridian Rotary.  The challenge was to provide a healthy 3 course meal for two persons at a cost of no more than £20.

Isabella Collins came first and Hannah Plumb came second, the same as the preliminary round that took place in East Grinstead in November 2018.

Isabella’s menu included a starter of salmon cubes topped in a sweet chilli sesame crust and it garlic infused King prawn on a wave of hoisin sauce. The main course was prosciutto this is chicken shard stuffed with cream cheese and spinach swirl served on a bed of zucchini with a hasselback potato and glazed rainbow carrots. The desert was a poached pear with an autumnal star anise apple syrup served with Chantilly cream and sugar surprise.

Hannah’s menu started with a shredded crab with chilli and a basic vinaigrette. Served with a mango and avocado purée. Garnished with red pepper and a Palmer sand shard. A main course followed with pork tenderloin wrapped in prosciutto ham with spinach chorizo and chicken mousse filling served with a modern take on a jacket potatoes, sesame tender stem broccoli with caramelised apple slices and beef gravy. Desert was a ginger and lime cheesecake served with the tangy lime curd and gingerbread crumbs.

After the award ceremony a lady among the audience approached Isabella and her family to say she was a recruitment consultant for the catering industry and offered Isabella a week's experience at a restaurant in London.

The Meridian Rotary coordinator, Chris Smith, commented ” there were six chefs taking part in the competition from as far and Seaford and we are delighted that the two students from Sackville, who are both 14 years of age, produced such a splendid meal under pressure and are able to proceed to the next stage.”

The competition is a national event organised by a Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland and will conclude with a national final in May.