Mariya cooks to success again!

A report from Gordon Peet.

ROTARY YOUNG CHEF COMPETITION – BRILLIANT RESULT AT DISTRICT FINAL

Mike Wilkinson and I went along on Saturday 31 January to support the two Waldegrave students Mariya-Al-D and Eva H, who had progressed into the Rotary District final, from the local round held last November, at Waldegrave School.

There were eighteen students competing for the right to go through to the Cluster (Regional) final, with competitors coming from a wide range of schools, sponsored by a number of clubs in our Rotary District.

After a delayed start due to admin problems, the cooking challenge eventually got under way and some fabulous dishes and table displays were produced. Once again, a feature was the number of menus representing the cuisine of various countries around the Globe. 

A very high standard was seen and the panel of five experienced judges, commented on how impressed they were and how difficult it had been in deciding the winning places. 

The competition was won by a young man called Martin D’A (whose father runs a very successful Italian restaurant in Fulham, which may have helped! He was sponsored by Merton Rotary Club.

Our two students from Waldegrave both put on a superb display, with Mariya Al-D taking second place and Eva H taking fourth place. A really great achievement given the strong competition. 

Mariya will now go forward to the Cluster Final due to be held on Saturday 8^th March at Cornwallis Academy in Maidstone. Eva will be first reserve in the event of anyone dropping out

Apart from their success, we hope that each enjoyed taking part and will have gained something from the experience.