The first stage of the Kent Young Chef Award judging took place on Thursday 22nd October when the panel of judges assembled to decide the eight finalists. The competition organised by Produced in Kent is open to young people aged 11 to 16. All the 2015 entrants applied through their schools and had to write and submit an original and innovative main dish recipe.
The panel of judges was led by celebrity Chef, Richard Phillips who met at the renowned Thackerays Restaurant in Tunbridge Wells. Joining him were; Graham Garrett from the West House, Biddenden, and Ewan Simpson from Rowhill Grange, Swanley. Zena Cooper from sponsors HiT Training was also present.
Stephanie Durling, organiser from Produced in Kent said, ‘we are delighted that the judges take the time to scrutinise the recipes, check for Kent ingredients, look at the technicality of the dish, discuss the merits and make the difficult decision of finding four junior and four senior finalists”.
Ewan Simpson, Executive Chef from Rowhill Grange and one of this year’s new judges, said “I was particularly impressed at the level of talent from the entries. Many people are passionate about food, but some of these youngsters have very good interpretation and use of flavours so it will be exciting to see what happens at the live final. There are so many opportunities around now for youngsters to get involved in the industry and gain work experience. It was quite tough selected the 8 finalists to go through this year and we have some returning from previous years so it’s always interesting to see how they’ve developed”.
The finalists for the junior title include; John Mulford and Harrison Moore both from the Judd School in Tonbridge, a first time for the school and these entrants.
Harrison’s dish will be a vegetarian pasta dish of Squash and rosemary tortellini. Harrison said that for as long as he can remember, “I have enjoyed cooking. I have never entered a competition and it would mean everything to me to get through to cook in the final”.
John will be cooking a Kentish Butternut squash, pumpkin seed and sage risotto with a dash of Kentish herb sauce and said, “Cooking has become more important to me since I became a vegetarian and taking part in the competition will be a great chance to express my passion for food and receive expert advice on improving”.
The other two junior entrants are from St Olave’s Grammar School, Orpington another new school entrant. Vishaal Prasher and Kajan Subakannan are also first timers and their dishes will be Fidget Pie cooked by Vishaal and a Pork loin roast supreme with crackling from Kajan. Kajan says “I have been able to cook since I was very young and would love to share my love for cooking with the world”.
Vishaal loves experimenting and being creating with his ingredients. “My parents would be delighted if I won the competition – but this would mean I would be made to do all the cooking!”
The four finalists in the senior category are all from different schools across the county and two of them are ‘old hands’ having participated in the competition several times in the past.
For Alexander Galpin, aged 14, from Skinners’ School, this will be the fourth time he has entered and this year his dish will be Juniper Venison steak, Hasselback potatoes, a Romanesco cauliflower cheese with a cobnut crumb, sloe gin and plum sauce. For Alex, “Winning the competition would be a dream and I believe this can be achieved this year! I’ve done lots of research into my recipe talking to farmers and specialists about flavour and texture”.
Another ‘old hand’ at the competition and the first time in the senior category, is Kieran Jones who goes to Homewood School in Tenterden. Kieran’s dish this year will be a Pan Fried South coast grey Mullet, chive pomme puree with braised baby fennel and Oyster beignets all served with a Samphire and seaweed butter sauce. Kieran said he is “even more enthusiastic to widen my experience. I intend to become a chef and winning would be a huge confidence boost as well as showing my dedication to potential colleges and employers. I am now a GCSE catering student so my knowledge is expanding all the time”.
Aaron Waller who attends St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School in Gravesend is new to the competition and he will be cooking a dish titled “The Forest of Kent” which comprises local pheasant stuffed with liver pate wrapped in cured ham and roasted with rosti potato, carrots and stuffed braised savoy cabbage all served up with a Kent cider cream sauce. Aaron says that “cooking is not a chore for me, it is a passion. It always presents new challenges. I discovered I liked cooking and entered another competition last year getting through to the final. To win the Kent Young Chef award would mean everything to me”.
Another new finalist this year is Lillie Matthews. Lillie attends Meopham Secondary School and tells us that she “has been interested in cooking since she was tiny. I knew from the start I wanted to be a chef and love everything about it – smells coming from a bubbling pot, satisfying sizzles of meat in a frying pan. Winning this competition would be the start of my dream to be a professional chef”. Lillie’s dish for the live final will be a pan roasted pork chop with caramelized onion and plum cider sauce with herby garlic scalloped potatoes.
Everyone is looking forward to tasting the final eight dishes on 13th November at West Kent College, Brook Street, Tonbridge when the best two chefs in the Junior and Senior age groups will be awarded the prestigious Kent Young Chef 2015 title. Competition sponsors Kent Potato Company, HiT Training, kff, Rowhill Grange, CCS and Aford Awards will be at the Cook Off to support the young chefs with special thanks going to CCS for providing all the finalists with Chefs Jackets.
Stephanie Durling said, “We are always excited to experience the live final and this year will be no exception. These finalists are so talented and passionate it’s amazing what they can produce at such a young age”. We also need to thank our wonderful competition sponsors and of course the judges who give so much of their time.”
The winner of the Junior and Senior titles will be announced following the Live Cook Off on 13th November.
