Move over Gordon, step aside Jamie, the best young culinary talent in Berkshire is preparing to go head-to-head in the FutureChef 2011 local finals, due to take place at Newbury College on 13th December.
Young people from schools around Berkshire are taking part in the contest, which is the second stage of a nationwide culinary programme helping young people aged between 12-16 learn to cook, organised by Springboard UK. The College's excellent teaching kitchens have been selected as the setting for the Future Chef competition. Within the competition each contestant will receive mentoring, encouragement and assistance from a local well-known chef through the competition.
Annmarie Farr, Lecturer for Catering at Newbury College, says, The Future Chef competition is a great opportunity for young people to get a taste of life in the catering industry and receive specialist support from industry professionals. Many young people respect the likes of nearby restaurant owners Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White, but don't consider cooking as a career option. We hope this competition may inspire some participants to pursue cooking as a profession. We're proud to host the local finals at Newbury College to showcase the facilities that our vocational catering students enjoy whilst training here with us.
Participants will devise, prepare and cook a hot main course and a hot or cold dessert for two with a budget of just £6. They must also provide full costing detail for the meal and then face an expert judging panel. Teachers, parents and guests from participating schools are expected to attend the College to cheer on contestants.
More than 7000 competitors from 600 schools from across the country participated in FutureChef 2010 to find the cream of aspiring young chefs. The competition was introduced 11 years ago by Brian Turner CBE, Chairman of FutureChef, and has seen involvement from most of the country's leading chefs.
If you're interested in finding out more information please visit the FutureChef website www.springboard.net or telephone 020 7395 9482 for more details. For more information on the catering courses available at Newbury College or to find out more about any of our 100s of full or part time courses please visit www.newbury-college.ac.uk or call 01635 845000