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The sizzling final of Produced in Kent’s prestigious Kent Young Chef Award saw eight students compete in the electric live cook off at the celebrated catering facilities at Thanet College.

Sponsored by kff, the leading local food service supplier, the Kent Young Chef Award also received the full media support of the KM Group, which enabled thousands of listeners to tune into the live action on the Vanessa Elms show on kmfm radio during the cook off.

Popular children’s presenter of the award-winning Art Attack TV show, Neil Buchanan, took time out of his busy recording schedule to open the live cook off at 10am, while a large crowd of relatives, supporters and local dignitaries gathered to watch the televised final, including Produced in Kent’s Patron Amanda Cottrell, the Lady Mayoress of Broadstairs & St Peters and the Prospective Conservative MP for Thanet Laura Sandys.

The eight finalists, aged between 11 and 16, donned their Kent Young Chef Award aprons and were given two hours to cook and serve their original main course recipes, all of which had to feature local and seasonal produce from the ‘Garden of England’.




After a couple of hours of frenetic action in the professional skills kitchen at Thanet College, Alice Browning from St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School, Chatham was crowned the Kent Young Chef Award winner in the junior age group (YG 7 & 8). Alice produced a highly original ‘Romney Marsh Lamb with Chocolate Peppermint Sauce’, made with chocolate peppermint leaves grown in her garden. 

Alice said: “This is so exciting I can’t believe it. I got really nervous at the beginning and end and it got very hot in the kitchen. But I just tried to keep a cool head and get on with what I had to do. Winning is so brilliant and I’m very happy!”

James Dye of Swan Valley Community School, Swanscombe won the senior Kent Young Chef Award for his delicious ‘Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with ‘Bubble and Squash’ served with Kentish ‘Double Vision’ Cider and Redcurrant Jus’. James’s father was a professional chef and now James hopes to train in the same profession.

 

Danielle Connolly-Ratcliffe director of D&T of Swan Valley Community School, watched James compete with his parents and she said: “Swan Valley is incredibly proud of James’s achievement and we plan to make quite a fuss of him next week at school. We passionately believe in vocational education. What Produced in Kent’s Kent Young Chef Award is doing across the county with this competition is fantastic. The standard here today has been so high.”

Star judge Richard Phillips (who has three successful restaurants in Kent and is a regular chef on TV’s Ready Steady Cook) also commented on the exceptionally high standards achieved. This, he said, made choosing two winners a very tough decision for the panel of judges, which included Roger Phillips, head of catering and hospitality at Thanet College, and Julie Monkman, manager of Produced in Kent.

Richard Phillips, said: “The standard of cooking and presentation was absolutely fantastic. The competitors have proved today that they are well ahead of their years in terms of what they have produced and achieved here. All the entrants chose a superb quality of local ingredients, and choosing the best quality, local ingredients is absolutely the key to creating an outstanding dish. All the contestants showed real passion and skill, they showed me that they cared about what they were doing and demonstrated a real love and flair for creative cooking. Well done to all of them!”

Head of catering and hospitality at Thanet College Roger Phillips echoed the sentiments of Richard Phillips, who trained at Thanet College under Roger. He said: “The flavours and presentation were outstanding and if any of the finalists want to come here as full time students in the future, they are more than welcome! They are a talented group of young people.” 

The two winners were presented with their awards and certificates and Richard Phillips generously extended the winners’ prize to spend an afternoon in his restaurant kitchens to all the finalists, to whoops and applause of appreciation from the audience. All the parents received a bottle of Chapel Down sparkling wine and the two winners walked away with a fabulous Produced in Kent hamper each. All the competitors received a certificate, branded aprons to keep and the two winners were interviewed live on kmfm radio.

 Produced in Kent hopes to stage a second Kent Young Chef Award in 2010 and will announce details to secondary schools in Kent at the beginning of the Autumn term in 2010 and online at www.producedinkent.co.uk The KM Group and kff will also support the 2010 event and readers will be able to follow next year’s competition on line onwww.kentonline.co.uk, on radio kmfm and in the KM newspapers.