Teen chef cooks up a storm

9:04am Thursday 2nd October 2008

A YOUNG chef cooked lunch for paying customers at the weekend after winning a Rotary competition to design a menu to cook in a real restaurant.

John of Gaunt School pupil George Smith, 14, won the Wessex Mead Rotary Club's Young Chef competition.

He cooked a lunch of pot roast lamb on potato rosti with minted pea puree, green beans wrapped in Parma ham and carrots followed by a rhubarb and custard sunday for guests at Red or White restaurant in Castle Street, Trowbridge on Saturday.

The competition saw Year 9 students at John of Gaunt School and St Augustine's School compete in heats where finalists were selected to compete against each other to win the final prize.

Sarah Hiscox, of the Rotary club, said: "It's a national Rotary competition to encourage young chefs. The meal he cooked was just lovely. The lamb was so well cooked it just fell apart when you cut it."

George said: "I had a fantastic time at Red or White cooking my prize-winning dishes. The chef Mark helped me improve my recipes and guided me through cooking lunch for 18 people. I was invited down last Saturday to get the feel of the kitchen and meet the staff which really helped. Everyone seemed to enjoy my dishes, every plate came back clean!"

The competition was supported by Walter Rose butchers in Trowbridge who helped cover the cost of food for the competition.

Red or White has also offered to give a donation to The Fuch's Foundation - a charity that is sending George's teacher Nicola Rowland to the Arctic to learn about environmental issues and share her knowledge with pupils and other teachers.