Thornhill v St John Fisher battle it out for Dewsbury’s Young Chef of the year crown

The Masterchef-style contest took place at Thornhill Community Academy, and pupils from local schools competed against each other and impress judges including local restaurant owner Orlando Gubbni and Zucchini head chef COlin Hanson.

Thornhill year 10 student Emily’s creation impressed Colin so much that he said he would be happy to add it to his menu.

She was joined by fellow contestant Fatimah to take on St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy pair Polly and Kierra.

They had two hours to prepare their dishes and were awarded marks for presentation, colour, flavour and texture before Emily was declared the winner.

“Emily’s dishes were outstanding, I would serve her main seabass meal and be happy to charge for it in our restaurant,” said Colin.

“It is great to have the opportunity to take part in cookery competitions and have the chance to get creative. I am delighted that I came first!” added Emily.

The school competition aims to enhance cookery skills and recreate the experiences of a typical professional kitchen, while giving competitors the opportunity to develop accurate costing and sourcing skills.

The school’s head of creative industries Tracey White said:

“The pressure was really on these students as professional judges walked around the room while they were preparing their dishes. They had to work completely independently. Our students produced an excellent menu and worked extremely hard, I am very proud of them.”