A rat from Paris inspires winning menu in Young Chef Competition
A rat from Paris inspires winning menu in Young Chef Competition
Former Bourne Academy student, Bronwyn Roche was awarded FIRST PLACE in the District Final of the Young Chef Competition 2022/23, which was also hosted at Bourne Academy.
The District Finals took place on Saturday 4th February 2023 and we were proud to be chosen as official hosts for this stage of the competition with our excellent catering facilities and food technology department. The competition is organised by Rotary International and designed to be enjoyable and promote cooking as a valuable life skill.
Bronwyn qualified from the local heats when she was in Year 11 and she continues to fly to the flag for Bourne Academy. As the winner of the District Final, she is now only one stage away from the National Final with the best young chefs in Great Britain and Ireland.
To win this heat, Bronwyn had to cook-off against thirteen other cooks who travelled to Bourne from all across the region. She had to design, prepare, cook and serve a three-course healthy meal comprising of a starter, main course and dessert for two people costing less than £22 – and had to be cooked in only two hours.
The judges were full of praise for Brownyn’s tantalising menu that was based on the animated film Ratatouille, which is about a rat from Paris called Remy who has a passion for food and dreams of becoming a professional chef.
Using French classics as inspiration, the menu featured French Onion Soup, Ratatouille and Tarte Tatin, but with added twists to elevate humble ingredients to a menu worthy of winning the competition.
The panel of three judges had to score the menu with a strict judging criteria. Obviously, the food must taste and look amazing, but judges also awarded points for healthy ingredients, costing, planning, timing, cooking skills, use of equipment and the neatness of the chef’s work area. A total of 50 points can be awarded with only 15 points for taste and presentation so this really does test all the key skills of being a chef.
We wish Bronwyn good luck in the next stage of the competition.
