Three students competed in the Future Chef School heat on Friday 16^th October. Springboard’s FutureChef is an exciting interactive programme of resources matched directly to the food-related curriculum in the UK. FutureChef provides pupils aged 12-16 years with access to, and direct support from, chefs & other hospitality professionals, bringing the industry alive in the classroom and getting the classroom out into industry. The challenge was to cook one course of food with a value of no more than £5.

Three students were competing for two places in the regional final they were;

• Ryan Hawkins of 9T who cooked homemade spaghetti with bacon and onion sauce and homemade pesto
• Nathan Parker 8S who cooked Chicken Pie and Steamed Vegetables
• Bilal Ahmed 9R who cooked Hot and Sour Prawn and Noodle Soup

The level of technical skill was impressive, Ryan made the pasta himself, Nathan made his own short crust pastry for the pie and Bilal used a wide range of seasonings to bring out complex flavours in his soup. The dishes were well planned and beautifully presented. It was great to see the students enjoying cooking and trialling new recipes and ideas.

The competition was judged by Mr Brown who used to teach Food Technology at the school, he looked at the workmanship of each cook, the creativity and presentation and composition, taste and flavour. Mr Brown commented ‘it’s good to see the boys so enthusiastic about cooking and enjoying their time creating each dish. A great range of workmanship and flavours, well done’.

Congratulations to Ryan and Nathan who progress on to the regional heats.