Despite strong competition, the winner of this year’s Food Festival Cookery Challenge, sponsored by Christchurch Rotary Club, was a student from Highcliffe School, Bailey Jones. Runners up were Amy Evans from Twynham school and Daniel Hearn from the Grange School.
Bailey’s menu consisted of Grilled Mackerel and Asian Salad with a Panna Cotta and Rhubarb jelly. The judges were Luke Matthews, Executive Head Chef from the Chewton Glen, Colin Nash, Head Chef from the Three Tuns at Bransgore and Malvern Jones the President of Christchurch Rotary Club. Each student taking part was given positive support and feedback by the chefs with Bailey being offered work experience at the Three Tuns!
The competition was held in the superb surroundings of Purewell Electrical’s new cookery theatre and showroom, and the competitors were supported by their colleagues from all three schools and by some members of the Rotary club.
Organiser of the competition Mary Reader said ‘Each year I am astounded by the high quality of food being taught in our local schools. I would like to say a huge thank you to the teachers, the Rotary Club and to Purewell Electrical for supporting us with this competition’.
The students all received cookware and commemorative books from the Chewton Glen as prizes and Bailey also received a voucher for a meal from the Three Tuns. Later in the year the students, together with all three finalists from each school will spend a day at Lesley Waters’s cookery school with their food teachers.
