Talented Hailey Vickers from Charlton Down proved she could stand the heat in the kitchen when she beat off stiff culinary competition to win the grand final of the 2009 Rotary Young Chef.
Sixteen year old Hailey, who goes to The Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester, wowed judges with her tasty three course meal of pan-seared scallops on a bed of spring pea risotto to start with, followed by lamb roulade served with olive oil mashed potato, confit tomato and mushroom with char-grilled asparagus and rosemary flavoured jus, and finished off with natural yogurt pannacotta served on a bed of rhubarb and ginger compote and light rhubarb consomme for dessert.
Pupils from schools across Great Britain and Ireland tantalised the taste buds in the grand final of Rotary Young Chef in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on Saturday 2 May, each cooking a healthy three-course meal for two people in two hours with a budget of just £14.
This year, more than 4,000 budding young chefs, aged 17 and under, took part in local and regional competitions, all culminating in the grand final that saw eight regional winners battling it out for the overall title.
Now in its ninth year the Rotary Young Chef Competition, supported by renowned Olive Oil manufacturer Filippo Berio and the charity Fifteen Foundation, was created to give young people across the UK and Ireland the chance to display their creative talents with food, while discovering the importance of healthy eating. Filippo Berio actively promotes the importance of healthy eating and hopes that by supporting Rotary Young Chef, it will encourage more young people to understand the importance of a healthy diet.
The winning meal was picked by a panel of experienced judges – Sara Buenfeld from BBC Good Food Magazine, TV chefs Chris Tanner and Andrew Turner, Fifteen London Executive Head Chef, Andrew Parkinson and Filippo Berio Marketing Manager, Diana Anderson.
Winner Hailey, said: “I’m so excited about winning, this really means the world to me as my passion is food and I want to follow my dream and do something in the food business when I finish school. It has taken over a month of planning and practicing to make sure that my menu was just right, which has been difficult to fit in around my exams. But I am delighted that all the hard work paid off on the day against such stiff competition.”
Ian Thomson, president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, said: “Once again this competition has shown how wonderfully talented young people today are. Rotary is totally committed to the support of young people regardless of their race, sex, or religious persuasions and we are extremely proud to have a very active youth programme which helps to encourage and promote their achievements. If you stop believing in young people how do you expect them to believe in themselves.”
Judge Andrew Parkinson, Executive Head Chef of Fifteen London, said: “This year’s competition was certainly fierce and all the finalists cooked to an incredibly high standard. However, Hailey really impressed us with her level of skill and the processes she used in creating their winning three-course meal. Overall all the dishes were packed with superb flavours and the judges had their work cut out as it was a closely run competition this year. ”
While Head Judge, Diana Anderson from Filippo Berio added: “It is inspiring to see so many young people with such a passion and knowledge of food. Contrary to many beliefs that today’s youth have little interest in good healthy food, these finalists and all the 4,000 entrants to the competition, have certainly shown their love of cooking. We were amazed by the standard demonstrated by (winner) and the other seven finalists – I am sure we have seen some of the Jamie Oliver’s or Nigella Lawson’s of the future!”
Hailey beat off stiff competition from the seven other finalists:
- Ian Robertson, 16, (Glenrothes)
- Jason Curia, 13, (Northallerton)
- Rebecca Mandall, 15, (Welwyn Garden City)
- Jonathan James Pulvertaft, 12, (Chichester)
- Jonathan Monk, 14, (Stourbridge)
- Susan Pattinson, 15, (Wigton)
- Aimee Orr, 14, (County Down)
Hailey was awarded a host of prizes, including a trip for two to Tuscany to visit Filippo Berio’s amazing olive groves and sample the delights of Italian cuisine, as well as being treated to a one-day cookery session in the kitchen of Fifteen London restaurant.
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Notes to editor
• Fifteen Foundation’s purpose is twofold: first to offer young people, often in need of a break, the experience of learning to work in the restaurant business and second, for our customers to enjoy fantastic food and knowledgeable customer service. The restaurant is the trading arm of a registered charity, Fifteen Foundation (no. 1094536), and its profits go towards a pioneering restaurant apprenticeship scheme. For more information, visit www.fifteen.net.
• Filippo Berio, based in Lucca, Tuscany, has been creating the finest quality olive oils since 1867 and is the UK’s best selling olive oil brand. Despite its global popularity, it’s a small, fully managed by a single Italian family. The company is passionately committed to the very best of Italy’s culinary heritage and to the highly skilled art of olive oil blending. Which is why to this day, every batch of olive oil is personally tasted. Filippo Berio’s passion for olive oil is shared by cooks across the world who rely on its superb quality to bring out the very best in their foods.
• Rotary was founded in 1905 in Chicago and is now the world’s largest international service organisation with 1.2 million professional men and women as members. There are 32,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographical areas. There are 1,845 Rotary clubs in Great Britain and Ireland with 57,000 volunteers raising money for their communities and carrying out humanitarian work both at home and abroad. Rotary initiates local and global projects to promote world understanding and peace and improve life conditions for people of all ages and cultures.
05/05/09
