Young Chef 2017/18 - Guernsey Final (17 November 2017)

ROTARY YOUNG CHEF 2017/18

Friday 17th November saw the Guernsey final of the 2017/18 Rotary Young Chef, held at the College of Further Education kitchens. The competition was once again a great success with the standard of these young chefs amazing everyone in attendance.

The four judges were: Paul Wilson (Executive Chef, Sueco), Tanya Dorrity (Channel Islands Cooperative Society), Paul Ainsworth (Aurigny) and Charlotte Jones (Environmental Health Officer).

Head judge Paul Wilson summed up the day when he announced the winners by saying that the standard of food presented in this competition was professional quality and that there was some real cooking talent in the competition.

The winner, who will represent the island in the district final was: Sophie Charmley from Blanchelande College and the runner up was Ruben Hale from La Mare De Carteret High School.

On winning the competition Sophie Charmley said ‘It is a big surprise to be named as the competition winner and I am looking forward to representing the Island in the next round of the competition’.

Sophie Charmley’s competition winning menu was:

Starter - Castel poached egg on homemade bread with a hollandaise sauce with chopped parsley

Main course – Locally caught sea bass on a bed of chive mash with roasted carrot and courgette with a lemon and butter sauce.

Dessert – Individual pavlovas with Guernsey cream with a berry coolie from my garden

Other prize winners were:

Tastiest Dish – Ruben Hale from La Mare De Carteret High School

Safety & Hygiene Award – Sophie Lanoe from The Grammar School

Craft and Kitchen skill – Charlotte Green from Blanchelande College

Co-op Best use of Local Produce prize – Megan Torode from La Mare De Carteret  

Nathan Silk one of the event organisers from the Rotary Club of Guernsey said “All the students taking part excelled themselves today”. He went on to thank the College of Further Education for their support of the competition as well as all of the students teachers. He also thanked the sponsors without whose support we simply could not hold the competition. Main sponsor was the Channel Islands Cooperative Society, the clothes sponsor Industrial and Leisure Clothing and Aurigny Air Services for sponsoring the flights for the Alderney students.

The winner Sophie Charmley will now go on to the Rotary District final which is being held on 3rd March in Waterlooville.

END

Background Information

The Rotary Young Chef Competition is a well-established and successful competition organised and promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland.

Participants are asked to prepare a three-course healthy meal for two people (starter, main course and dessert) costing no more than £15.00, within 2 hours.

This Competition aims to encourage young people to:

• Develop cookery skills.

• Develop food presentation skills.

• Consider healthy eating options and food hygiene issues.

• Prove their organisational and planning skills.

• Prove their ability to cope in a demanding situation.

The judges will make their judgements using the following mark allocation:

The Young Chef competition is organised by the Rotary Club of Guernsey – Youth Opportunities.

Please contact Nathan Silk from the Rotary Club of Guernsey on 07781 112623 or email nathan.silk@gov.gg for more information.