FutureChef announces finalists
Eleven budding chefs aged between 14 and 15 are gearing up for the grand final of FutureChef 2003, to be held at Westminster Kingsway College in London on Friday 28 February.
The final will be the culmination of a series of school and regional heats which began last September and ended last month. More than 3,500 pupils took part in the event, organised by Springboard UK, which is open to 12- to 16-year-olds and is intended to nurture young people's interest in the industry. This year, more than 350 UK schools participated.
For the regional cook-offs, pupils were asked to prep and serve a two-course meal comprising a main and dessert dish for two covers. A budget of £7.50 provided the framework. They then had 90 minutes to create the dishes, but had to present the main course after an hour.
Culinary influences from around the world were in evidence in the winning dishes, which included a Thai brochette of monkfish with sesame sticky rice and perfumed vegetable julienne, and a roasted rump of Romney Marsh lamb with garden mint risotto and a Lamberhurst red wine jus.
Puddings also displayed an eclectic mix, ranging from tarte tatin to a hot chocolate soufflé with a basket of clove ice-cream and pear and redcurrant compote.
The Finalists
The FutureChef finalists are: Gabriella Kinsella, South Bromsgrove High School (West Midlands); Sarah Clegg, Linlithgow Academy (Central and South Scotland); Sarah Gill, Angley School (South-east England); Emily Webb, Hind Leys Community College (East Midlands); Kerri Lawson, Mintlaw Academy (Scottish North and Highlands); Laura Jenkins, Sandfields Comprehensive (Wales); Rachel Barker, Acklam Grange Secondary (North-east England); Martina Halligan, St Ciaran's High School (Northern Ireland); Emma Spenwyn, Highlands School (London); Kathryn Hatton, Fairfield High School (North-west); and Gregory Howard, Pittville School (South-west).
Norwegian Student Challenge
Also looking towards future leaders of the industry is the Norwegian Seafood Focus Student Challenge, which is now in its second year.
Organiser Norwegian Seafood, which stages the competition in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs, has aimed the event at full- and part-time catering students, and is asking competitors to devise an original recipe for a two-cover main course using Norwegian cod, haddock or prawns, or a combination of any of these three.
Entries must include full costs, which should not exceed £2.50 excluding the cost of the fish, and need to be prepared, cooked and served in 45 minutes. There will be an initial paper-judging round, from which eight students will be chosen to go forward to a final cook-off on Friday 4 April at the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies.
First prize will be a culinary work-experience trip to Norway, and there are cash prizes for second and third positions. All three winners will also be invited to an exclusive lunch at a London venue with guest judge Jean-Christophe Novelli, directeur des cuisines at Auberge du Lac at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire.
* The search is also on to find a winner for the Norwegian Seafood Recipe Challenge 2003.
Open to all professional chefs in the UK, entrants should submit an original recipe featuring Norwegian cod, Norwegian haddock and/or Norwegian prawns by 21 May.
The judges, including Craft Guild of Chefs chairman David Mulcahy, will shortlist 10 finalists from the paper entries, and a live cook-off will take place at London's Landmark hotel on 26 June. For further details, call 0800 028 7175.
Cornish Challenge
This month saw Cornwall Catering 2000 stage its biennial catering challenge, in which six teams of chefs from the area's restaurants, pubs and hotels compete in a bid to showcase the best of local produce.
The teams had to produce 24 covers over a four-hour period after being given a mystery basket of ingredients. The victors were a combined team from the Falmouth Beach and Alverton Manor hotels.
Their winning menu comprised a starter of John Dory with steamed mussel linguine and a vegetable nage, followed by pan-seared breast of duckling with thyme-scented mash, roasted vegetable and a shallot sauce, while a citrus cream with grape coulis and caramelised figs rounded things off. A vegetarian option of goats' cheese ravioli was also made.
Judges included Michael Caines, chef-director of Dartmoor's two-Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park and proprietor of Exeter's Michael Caines at the Clarence, and Kevin Viner, chef-proprietor of Truro's Sevens restaurant.