On 6th January 2016 at Hugh Baird College’s L20 Hotel School, eight young chefs aged between 12 and 16 took up the challenge to showcase their fantastic cooking skills and battle it out to win the Eat My Words FutureChef Merseyside Final.
The winner gained a place in the North West Regional Final, getting one step closer to the National Final on the 14th March 2016.
Bethan Disley-Jones from Pensby High School reigned supreme, impressing judges with her winning menu of Salmon and Ricotta Ravioli followed by Chocolate Fondant with Raspberry Coulis.
The Eat My Words FutureChef Merseyside Final was judged by industry chefs Adam Stanley, Head Chef at The Glynne Arms in Hawarden, North Wales and Executive Chef at Everton Football Club, Gareth Billington. Gareth said:
“Having judged this competition for many years, the standards shown by all the competitors were exceptionally high”.
Springboard’s FutureChef is a nationwide culinary initiative which helps young people aged 12-16 cook their way through a series of challenges and works in conjunction with Hugh Baird College’s L20 Hotel School to run the annual Eat My Words FutureChef Merseyside Final.
Springboard Programmes Manager for the North of England, Suzanne Chilvers said:
“The Springboard FutureChef initiative is the biggest and most successful national school cooking programme in the UK. It inspires students to learn to cook, introduces them and their schools to well respected industry chefs and provides pupils with the opportunity to develop a valuable life skill or take their first steps towards a career in the burgeoning hospitality industry.”
Rob Graham, Director of the L20 Hotel School said:
“The Eat My Words FutureChef competition is a wonderful way of showcasing the talent that school pupils have. The hospitality and visitor economy is growing in our region and it offers a wide range of exciting careers. I’m sure we have seen some of the region’s top future chefs here today.”
Bethan will next cook in the North West Regional Finals in Manchester on 5 February 2016.
You can view a video of the event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmLIdEgbvPw
To find out more about our L20 Hotel School hospitality courses visit: http://www.hughbaird.ac.uk/index.php/courses/hospitality-l20-hotel-school