Aspiring chef near Banbury represents her county at national MasterChef-style cookery competition for youngsters

Open to young learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the Springboard SEND FutureChef Competition has been running for three years.

It’s supported by hospitality giant Sodexo and the charity Springboard UK, which works to tackle staff and skills shortages while promoting hospitality as a rewarding and worthwhile career path.

Eight budding Jamie Olivers and Angela Hartnetts, from as far afield as Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire, battled it out for top honours at the event, held today (March 11), at the Miele Experience Centre in Abingdon.

Representing Oxfordshire was Leah, from Bloxham Grove Academy, who served up to the judges a coconut chicken curry main course and chocolate cheesecake for dessert.

Bloxham Grove Academy teacher Natasha Smith said the competition has been a fantastic experience for Leah.

She added: “Competitions like this give students with SEND the chance to demonstrate their skills, grow in confidence and feel proud of their achievements. Cooking develops important life skills such as organisation, creativity and resilience, and we’re delighted to see our students benefiting from opportunities that celebrate their strengths and potential.”

The young chefs each had to cook a chicken-based main course followed by a dessert incorporating chocolate. Eash dish was assessed by a seven-strong judging panel headed by Mark Belford, who is Principal of HIT Training’s Chef Academy in London.

He said: “It's a privilege to support the competition once again. Events like this are vital for our industry - they open doors, build confidence, and celebrate the incredible talent and creativity of young people with SEND.

“Their passion for food and determination to succeed is genuinely inspiring. At HIT Training, we’re committed to championing inclusivity and creating opportunities for all, and this competition perfectly reflects those values. It’s essential that as an industry we continue to support platforms that allow every young chef to thrive.”

Springboard Ambassador, Michael Taylor, from Sodexo, who organised the competition said it was great to see so many young people with learning difficulties overcome the challenges of taking part in a competition.

He said: “There were restrictions on what to cook, a set budget, and they had to cook in a kitchen they hadn’t seen before, all in the hope they’d be crowned the overall winner.”

The finalists were: Leah, Bloxham Grove Academy; Bloxham; Louis, Boveridge College in Dorset; Christopher, Aurora Foxes, Minehead; Elizabeth, Hanley School, Stoke-on-Trent; Arthur, Hedgeway School in South Gloucestershire; Ethan, Ivy Lane School in Wakefield; Autumn, REAL Education Mansfield and Leah, Pebble Brook School, Aylesbury.

The overall winner was Louis, from Boveridge College in Dorset who cooked Somerset Chicken with Hasselback potatoes followed by chilli chocolate fondant and raspberry roulade.