Young chefs serve up winning dishes to tempt judges' taste buds in Banbury Rotary cooking competition

After a break of four years because of the Covid pandemic, the Rotary Club of Banbury successfully staged an event again for 2023/24 – and a selection of talented young chefs cooked up some delightful plates when the competition took place at Wykham Park Academy, Banbury last week.

The nine students taking part were asked to plan, prepare, cook and present a two course meal, suitable for a couple, in a two hour period.

The cooking was supervised and dishes tasted by three judges from the Banbury area, each prominent in the catering industry. They were Jim Cunningham, retired catering department head from Banbury and Bicester College, Paul Clement who runs a major entertainment company that provides catering for events such as the Cricket World Cup in India and Annie Guyton, catering consultant for Freemasons Hall, Banbury.

After some tough competition the winner was 14-year-old Bridget Harper, a pupil of Bloxham School. Runner-up was Harry Phillips, also 14, and another Bloxham pupil. Both will go forward to future regional rounds until the National Final in April.

Unfortunately special guest, Banbury Town Mayor, Cllr Fiaz Ahmed, was unable to attend as his return flight to the UK was unexpectedly cancelled. However his deputy, Cllr Mike Bishop attended in his absence and thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Parents, other relatives, friends and Rotarians were able to view the finished meals while the final decision was debated between the judges.

All participants were presented with a certificate by Cllr Bishop, confirming that they had taken part and reached a high standard..

Bridget’s menu was pork chops with parsnips served three ways, mashed potatoes, apple puree, calvados gravy and micro-herbs including wild garlic. Her desert was lemon and raspberry possett with crushed ginger biscuits with a raspberry coulis.

Harry produced lamb cutlets, mashed potato carrots and peas, rosemary gravy and a desert of lemon and raspberry possett – Harry Phillips, 14.

The Young Chef competition consists of heats at local and district (Thames Valley) level leading to a National final held in Warwickshire in April 2024 to select a winner who is awarded a work experience opportunity in the sponsor’s central London restaurant.