Young Chef Competition 2026

The final of our annual Young Chef competition at Wayland Academy took place at the beginning of February, with the 6 finalists having already come through two rounds to get this far. For the preliminary round the competitors had to produce a plate of scones, and for the semi-final they had to produce from scratch a single main course meal. For the final a two course meal had to be prepared within the time limit.

As in previous years the standard of cookery from the finalists was outstanding, and only after some debate were our judges able to separate a winner and  runner up from the other competitors. Eventually Jack Tooke was awarded with first prize for his Tex Mex Chicken followed by Key Lime Pie, with Tabitha Chapman a close second for her Beef in red wine stew followed by raspberry cheesecakes.

Rotarian Mike Haythorpe, on behalf of the judges, said ' The standard of entries this year has been better than ever, and all participants are to be congratulated. I also want to give heartfelt thanks to Gaynor Evans at Wayland Academy, who has always been supportive of this competition, and without whose enthusiasm it would not take place.'