Junior Chefs Competition

Keeping Cool in the Kitchen

Students from Suffolk will have to keep cool under pressure when they step into the kitchens of Lowestoft College for the Junior Chefs Competition on Saturday 26 April.

Lowestoft, Suffolk New and West Suffolk Colleges – each have two students battling it out in the competition. Everyone taking part in the competition is between 14 and 16 years old and, although they are still at school, attend college for one day a week to learn about the catering industry.

The Junior Chefs competition is set to test the skills of the students as they will have to prepare a two course meal for two people in two hours with a budget of just £10. In addition to preparing the dishes, the students also have to present costings and recipes for the dishes and ensure that they maintain good levels of hygiene, demonstrate good practical skills, present their dishes well and use seasonal ingredients.

A spokesperson from the colleges said, "The Junior Chef's competition is a great event. It allows young students the opportunity to experience the realities of the kitchen in a pressurised environment. It also gives them a flavour of the types of situation's they will face when they commence employment."

"You never know, some of the students who take part in this competition may well go on and become Suffolk's answer to Jamie Oliver or Marco Pierre White," they added.

The winner will go on to represent Suffolk in the regional version of the competition which is scheduled to take place later this year.