Taking The Carved Fruit Challenge
Young Chef finalists enjoy cookery masterclass
Competitors in the third annual Wandsworth Young Chef of the Year competition have been learning some vital skills to help take their cooking to the next level.
They have received a cooking masterclass from the South Thames College – Hospitality and Catering Academy to help them prepare for the grand final of the Wandsworth inter-school competition.
Schools were spilt into teams and challenged to produce the best carved fruit platter suitable for a buffet display. The master class delivered by tutors and students included information on kitchen health and safety and basic and advanced knife skills.
The young people all got valuable feedback and a certificate to prove they had been on a knife-skills course.
Young Chef of the Year nurtures young talent, teaches young people how to cook good healthy food to a budget, provides a chance to learn from the experts and helps young people get a foothold in the catering industry.
Schools are holding ‘cook-offs’ to chose their finalists, who will receive extensive support and mentoring from chefs at major catering company Compass, which has been involved with the competition since it launched in 2013.
Also supporting the scheme is Billingsgate Fish Market which will teaching finalists how to chose, prepare and cook fish in February.
The competition is run by the Mayor of Wandsworth and the council’s public health team. Finalists will compete next spring in the grand final judged by TV chef Anthony Worrall Thompson, Nick Vadis and Ross Anderson of South Thames College.
Mayor of Wandsworth Cllr Nicola Nardelli said: “We run the Wandsworth Young Chef of the Year Competition to give our young people vital experience on what cooking at a professional level involves. I’m very grateful to South Thames College for supporting the competition and helping contestants learn the skills they’ll need in the final. I can’t wait to see what they come up with“
December 15, 2015