The region’s budding young chefs lead the way!
Sponsored by Nisbets
The final of South West Junior Chef of the Year 2022 took place on Saturday 1st October at Exeter College, when the first of our 2022 winners was crowned.
Well done to all six of the young cooks (aged 13-15) who had cooked their way to the title of Junior Chef of the Year in their own counties in June and who met at the grand final on Saturday. And what a final it was! The quality of cooking and range of skills on display was truly impressive and our judges thoroughly enjoyed seeing such competence among such young cooks before selecting their winner.
Many congratulations to Syd who, aged just 14, initially won Devon Junior Chef in June to qualify for the final, where he won the overall title, South West Junior Chef of the Year with his amazing main course dish which he named “Lasagne this is not….”. This was a clever dish of West Country fillet of beef, goat’s cheese and mushroom ravioli served with a rich roasted tomato and balsamic sauce and King Oyster mushroom.
Details of all competitors and their dishes can be found below.
Each of our finalists was mentored by one of our judges over the summer who invited them into their kitchens to develop and enhance their dishes in preparation for the final, providing valuable experience of a working kitchen for these budding chefs.
Thank you very much to our judges for the county finals and special thanks to those who mentored the competitors (details below).
Many thanks, also, to the teachers and parents of the young finalists who have clearly inspired them to develop their interest and skills in the kitchen and have provided so much support for them throughout the competition.
The Junior Chef final followed the final of South West Home Cook of the Year which took place during the morning of 1st October. The winner of this award will be announced at our forthcoming awards presentation evening. See below for more details.
The region’s budding young chefs lead the way!
The region’s budding young chefs lead the way!Sponsored by Nisbets
The final of South West Junior Chef of the Year 2022 took place on Saturday 1st October at Exeter College, when the first of our 2022 winners was crowned.
Well done to all six of the young cooks (aged 13-15) who had cooked their way to the title of Junior Chef of the Year in their own counties in June and who met at the grand final on Saturday. And what a final it was! The quality of cooking and range of skills on display was truly impressive and our judges thoroughly enjoyed seeing such competence among such young cooks before selecting their winner.
Many congratulations to Syd who, aged just 14, initially won Devon Junior Chef in June to qualify for the final, where he won the overall title, South West Junior Chef of the Year with his amazing main course dish which he named “Lasagne this is not….”. This was a clever dish of West Country fillet of beef, goat’s cheese and mushroom ravioli served with a rich roasted tomato and balsamic sauce and King Oyster mushroom.
Details of all competitors and their dishes can be found below.
Each of our finalists was mentored by one of our judges over the summer who invited them into their kitchens to develop and enhance their dishes in preparation for the final, providing valuable experience of a working kitchen for these budding chefs.
Thank you very much to our judges for the county finals and special thanks to those who mentored the competitors (details below).
Many thanks, also, to the teachers and parents of the young finalists who have clearly inspired them to develop their interest and skills in the kitchen and have provided so much support for them throughout the competition.
The Junior Chef final followed the final of South West Home Cook of the Year which took place during the morning of 1st October. The winner of this award will be announced at our forthcoming awards presentation evening. See below for more details.
Many thanks to our judges for the final (pictured left to right): Seth Ward (representing lead sponsor Bidfood), Hywel Jones (Lucknam Park), Scott Paton (Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall), Syd, Ian Webber (Farmers Arms and The Collective at Woolsery) and Michael Caines MBE DL (Michael Caines Collection) and thank you very much to the staff and students at Exeter College for hosting the final and supporting competitors.
And thank you very much to Steve Haywood for photographing the competition!
Thanks to our partnership with the Springboard FutureChef competition, our six junior finalists have now been invited to take part in the FutureChef regional final of in February to compete for a place in the national final and we wish them all the very best of luck!
South West Home Cook of the Year
The final of South West Home Cook of the Year, was also held on 1st October. Four finalists prepared a two-course menu (main and dessert) for our judges and the winner will be announced at our awards presentation on 25th October. See below for details of the finalists and their dishes.
Awards
The awards will be presented to the 2022 winners of all five categories of the competition following a special dinner prepared by previous winners and judges of the competition on Tuesday 25th October. In addition, one winner will be selected as the winner of Overall South West Chef of the Year, kindly sponsored by Cricket St Thomas by Lactalis Professional.
If you would like to join us for our awards evening when you can enjoy a sumptuous meal prepared by previous winners and judges of the competition, further details and tickets are available through our website – click here for more information.
Congratulations to South West Junior Chef of the Year 2022:
Syd
Devon Junior Chef of the Year
Torquay Academy, Torquay
Mentored by Mark Dodson, The Mason Arms, Knowstone
Lasagne this is not…. West Country fillet of beef, goat’s cheese and mushroom ravioli served with a rich roasted tomato and balsamic sauce and King Oyster mushroom
Well done to all other finalists:
Alexina
Somerset Junior Chef of the Year
Kings Bruton School, Bruton
Mentored by Andrew Swann, The Castle Hotel, Taunton
Beef Wellington
Anya
Gloucestershire Junior Chef of the Year
Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School, Wotton-under-Edge
Mentored by Gareth Fulford, Purslane Restaurant, Cheltenham
Chicken breast in a creamy parmesan sauce served with mashed potatoes and roasted veg
Freya
Cornwall Junior Chef of the Year
Penrice Academy, St Austell
Mentored by Pete Murt, Head Chef, Rick Steins Sandbanks
Côte de boeuf, fondant potato, Bordelaise sauce, navet purée, pea fricassée
Harvey
Dorset Junior Chef of the Year
Highcliffe School, Bournemouth
Mentored by Sam Hughes, Rick Stein Sandbanks
The New Forest Fare – poussin supreme with mushrooms, white beans and rainbow chard
James
Wiltshire Junior Chef of the Year
St John’s School, Marlborough
Mentored by Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park and Rob Potter, The Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe
You have to be kidding…. goat ravioli
Lead sponsor:
Read on for details of our dinner and awards evening.
South West Home Cook of the Year
The final of South West Home Cook of the Year was also held on Saturday 1st October when four keen home cooks demonstrated their skills and passion for local produce for our judges. Finalists in this category were given a number of specified ingredients that had to be incorporated into their two-course menus:
Best end of lamb – kindly supplied by M C Kelly Ltd
OR
Dover Sole – kindly supplied by Flying Fish Seafoods
Autumn fruits and berries – kindly supplied by Total Produce
You will see details of the finalists, their menus and pictures of the dishes they presented below. The winner of this award will be announced at our awards presentation evening on 25th October.
Tareq Assaf
Bath
Main:
Autumn colours and comfort
Dessert:
Redcurrant and pear crumble with custard (crema pasticcera)
Lucinda Ellicott
Paignton, Devon
Main:
Best end of lamb with caramelised orange and hazelnut salad, potato rosti and parsnip
Dessert:
Autumn fruit with passion fruit cream meringue roulade
James Hunt
Bournemouth, Dorset
Main:
Trio of lamb: herb crusted rack, pan fried sweetbreads and tartare cigar with wasabi served with leek coated in leek ash, potato shells filled with potato mousse, black garlic purée and lamb jus
Dessert:
Autumn fruits: chocolate sphere filled with blackberry Bavarois and apple sorbet served with salted granola, apple fluid gel, blackberry compôte and caramelized apple
Munopa Nhete
Taunton, Somerset
Main:
Spiced sole, cauliflower purée, za’atar beetroot crisps, white wine foam and sea vegetables
Dessert:
Orange cake layered with berry compôte, thyme and pistachio crust, vanilla custard
Awards Evening – a celebration of the South West’s outstanding culinary skills!
Join us to celebrate the winners of South West Chef of the Year 2022 on Tuesday 25th October
Tickets are now available for our celebration evening when the awards will be presented following a wonderful meal prepared by three guest chefs, all judges and previous winners of South West Chef of the Year:
Starter:
Ian Webber
Executive Chef, The Farmers Arms and The Collective at Woolsery
South West Professional Chef and overall winner 2006 and now a judge
Main:
Ed Marsh
Head Chef, The Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe
South West Professional Chef and overall winner 2019 and now a judge
Dessert:
Matt Mason
Chef Director, Winslade Manor, Clyst St Mary, Exeter
South West Professional Chef and overall winner 2007 and now a judge
Our chefs will be assisted in the kitchen and front-of-house by students of the Michael Caines Academy.
This evening brings about a rare gathering of the region’s hospitality industry including our finalists, judges, sponsors and many more and is kindly sponsored and hosted by Exeter Golf and Country Club.
The evening will begin with a drinks reception followed by a three-course meal, with wines perfectly paired with our menu, and coffee and petits fours to finish. Tickets are available at £100 each. Make sure you book soon – click here for more information about the evening and to book your tickets.
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