The first heat of the Rotary Young Chef Competition went underway on Monday 16th December when cooking enthusiasts from Keswick School took to the stove and impressed the judges with their kitchen capabilities.
The competition is designed to ignite a passion for cooking at a young age and support young pupils with the development of cookery skills. The local heat took part at the local school, in their newly refurbished Food Technology Kitchens which Lake District Hotels helped create.
Cooking up a storm
The budding chefs who took part in the competition were sponsored by Keswick Rotary Club, who not only reimbursed the money spent on all entrants’ ingredients used to make their meals, but also provided 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes for the top culinary masterminds.
The fiery competition was judged by Keswick Rotary members: David Quainton, Helen Hunt and Neil Beresford, who were all joined by our own culinary genius, Mark Harris – Lake District Hotels Executive Head Chef.
The burgeoning young chefs were scored on a whole range of criteria which went beyond the flavours of the food itself. Some of the judging categories included:
- Time management
- Appearance
- Taste
- Texture
- How balanced and healthy the meal was
The Rotary Young Chef winners
The competition was a close call, but after much discussion and consideration, our judges made their decision.
- Bethan Wilson – the winning dish was a beautifully presented Loin of Cod which was served on a delicious Pea and Samphire Parma Ham Risotto for main. For dessert, Bethan cooked a mouthwatering Baileys Bread & Butter Pudding which was served with a Quenelle of Baileys Cream.
- Andrew Hudson – in close second place was a traditional Carbonara dish that was made from homemade pasta, followed by a tempting dessert of Lemon Posset made with Lakeland Cream and Served with Raspberry coulis & a Butter Biscuit.
- Molly Rebanks – the third most impressive dish of the competition was a main course of delicately cooked Herdwick Lamb Steak and Roasted Root Vegetables, nicely followed by a Blackberry and Apple Crumble served with Custard.
OUR WORK WITH KESWICK SCHOOL →
Queen of the kitchen, Bethan, will now go through to the district finals which takes place at the Lakes School in Windermere next February 2020. The winner of this final then goes on to be entered in the regional final.
The heat is on as Bethan must now perfect her culinary skills in preparation for the next stage of the competition, however, she will be getting a helping hand from Mark Harris – having the opportunity to work alongside him at the Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa.
