Rotary Young Chef

The Rotary Young Chef Competition has been run in District 1180 for around 20 years . It  is a well established and successful competition organised and promoted by Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland. We believe it is important to encourage and develop creativity in young people and that includes creativity in the kitchen. Cooking amongst young people is a growing interest and a valuable life skill.

The Rotary Young Chef competition, sponsored by Filippo Berio, gives entrants the chance to develop their culinary skills and be judged by leading industry professionals.

Entrants plan and cook a two-course meal (main course and dessert), develop their food presentation skills, and gain experience in high-pressure situations.

Whether you’re keen on a culinary career or just an enthusiastic home cook, this competition is a fantastic opportunity.

Entrants must be between the ages of 11 – 17 (as of 31st August 2025).

The winner of the Rotary Young Chef National Final will receive a prize of a two-day trip to Tuscany, which includes cookery classes to learn the secrets of regional Italian cooking.

The competition is open to amateur chefs aged 11-17 - take a look at the Information Pack for further details. For the purpose of the competition, an amateur is considered to be a person who is not in full, or regular part time, employment in the catering trade. Eligible entrants who have been temporarily employed by restaurants during the school holidays may take part. The competition is not open to students who are enrolled on a full time catering course who are studying for a qualification above “A” level standard.

Young people learn to:

• Cook a healthy meal
• Develop food presentation skills
• Consider food hygiene issues
• Develop organisational and planning skills
• Develop ability to cope in a demanding situation

It is a four stage national competition to support and encourage development of cookery skills. Some stages may have more than one round.  

Local Heats

These are organised by local Rotary clubs and hosted by schools or colleges between September and December. The winner of each local heat is entered into the district finals.

Local Rotary Clubs can be found by using the club finder facility in the bottom left hand corner of the Rotary International in Britain and Ireland (Rotary GB&I) home webpage – www.rotarygbi.org.

District Finals

Organised by Rotary at a venue to be advised, normally between January and late February each year. The winner and runner up from each district final is entered into the regional final.  

These stages are followed by a Cluster (Regional) Final and National Final.

The National Final is taking place on Saturday, 26th April 2026 in our District!  It is at Grange Senior School in Hartford, Cheshire.

Full details of the Rotary Young Chef awards can be found here for the public, with further information and applications forms available to Rotary member here. This is not available to the public to ensure they reach out to their local Rotary club. 

We do not yet have a Rotarian to lead this in District 1180 so any queries should be directed to Hannah Graham regarding District entries. If you are a Rotarian and reading this, then by getting this far you will likely have some interest - so please consider volunteering. Please contact Hannah Graham. Expertise is not required - just an interest, and enthusiasm.