Aspiring cooks put forward creative menus in Rotary Young Chef competition at Havant and South Downs College

A group of 10 young people competed in the quarter finals of the Rotary Young Chef competition at Havant and South Downs College, with the Portsmouth area bringing three contestants.

Macie-May Bissett from Havant and South Downs College along with Kayley Layton and Harvey Bone from Park Community College got stuck in to the event organised by the Rotary Club of Gosport.

Ray Drake, who managed the event, said: ‘The college is a fantastic venue and they are to be congratulated on the work they are doing for the future of our youth and the hospitality industry.’

Each entrant had to organise, plan and deliver a healthy three-course meal for two on a budget of £20.

Ray added: ‘From the very start they were well organised and there was a professional calm. They certainly made it hard for the judges to select just four to go onto the South West Regional competition.

‘What was wonderful to note was that even though they were in competition with each other they were friendly and helpful to one another. They were fantastic ambassadors for our youth.’

The judges were Clive Wright, the food and beverage director of the Lysses House Hotel in Fareham, Ollie Clift of Clift Catering and Emsworth Sailing Club and Phil Clark, marketing and product development at Harvest Fine Foods, who also sponsored the prizes.

Macie-May from Havant and South Downs College won the competition with her menu of lightly battered monkfish tail with garlic mayo, pan fried cod loin with a fine caponata and tomato sauce, followed by vanilla panna cotta with poached fruits and granola.

The prizes were presented to the winners by the Rotary Wessex District governor Lawrence Tristram.

The Channel Isles did very well with a student from St Sampson’s High School in Guernsey coming second and one from Jersey College for Girls in third.

With an entrant from the Grange School in Christchurch coming fourth, these winners will all now enter the regional semi-final competition at Havant and South Downs College on March 12, before the national final at Stratford-Upon-Avon on May 2.