On the hottest day of the year so far, it got scorching in the training kitchens at East Kent College yesterday (Wednesday).
Ten budding young chefs competed for glory in the 2017 Thanet School Recipe Challenge.
The finalists had each devised an original recipe that featured fresh tomatoes, pepper and/or cucumber, and they had an hour in which to bring their recipe to life for our distinguished judges.
The judges were looking for innovation and excitement, for colour, for healthy ideas and for children to think creatively about food.
A Thanet Earth spokesman said: “The finalists should be very proud of their efforts. There were mouthwatering smells and very well-balanced, carefully designed dishes.”
Each finalist was rewarded with a recipe book, a trophy and a commemorative apron. The winner in each category also bagged a tasty £300 in Tesco vouchers for their school, and they’ll see their recipe printed as a recipe card at Tesco.
The spokesman added: “The chef tutors and college catering students were on hand as ever to reassure and assist in the college kitchens, and our judges – Jason Freedman, of Curiously Kentish, Jo Scott from Broadstairs Food Festival and Richard Diplock from Thanet Earth, really enjoyed watching the preparation of the dishes and the all-important tasting of the finished recipes.”
Now in its seventh year, the judges remarked on the beautiful flavours the participants had managed to create and on how well they had performed in an unfamiliar kitchen environment.
The winners
Age 4-8
Ruben Bass, 5, St Mildred’s Primary School
Puff tomato and red pepper pie
Age 9-11
Neve Sumnall, 11, St Nicholas at Wade Primary School
Cod papillote
Age 12-16
Owen Golding, 15,
East Kent College Technical School
Local mackerel with chard and pickled cucumber with a tomato salad
Find out more about Thanet earth, and see more photos, here