FLEETWOOD YOUNG CHEF OF THE YEAR
A future Gordon Ramsey or Mary Berry could be right here in Fleetwood and about to be discovered with the launch of the Town’s ‘Young Chef of the Year’ competition. This is the latest project from the Healthier Fleetwood partnership as part of their aim to improve the long-term wellbeing of residents.
Dr Mark Spencer, GP at Mountview Practice and a leading member of Healthier Fleetwood explained how the idea behind the competition. “Cooking is great fun and brings families and friends together. Getting children interested in cooking and improving their nutritional knowledge is a great initiative.”
All the Primary schools across the Town will be taking part with their Year 5 students taking up the challenge of designing a ‘Meal for their Hero’ of soup, main course, dessert and drink for under £10. Along the way the children will learn chef skills, seasonality, cooking methods, food hygiene and safety, where food comes from and healthy diets. The teaching will also cross over into other areas of the curriculum such as English, Science, Maths, Geography, ICT and Art and Design. A contribution towards the funding for the ingredients has been provided by Fleetwood Town FC Community Trust.
Coordinating the competition with a programme of activity and resources is Katharine Tate, an award winning nutritional therapist and author who has been involved with the partnership from the start. “Teaching children the importance of food for their health is essential and this challenge provides that opportunity within a purposeful and engaging context.”
Among the resources available to the schools will be videos from Katharine and Harry Lomas MBE, former Chef to Her Majesty the Queen State and Ceremonial. “Chef Harry has been instrumental in developing essential chef skills into the awards to motivate and interest children in food, cooking, presentation and hospitality.” Katharine added.
The programme will include practical lessons with the chefs at Twelve Restaurant, Thornton Cleveleys and proprietor Caroline Upton said, “Our chefs are always delighted to meet young students who are interested in developing their chef skills and cooking techniques. This initiative offers a great opportunity for the students to learn from the professionals and gain an understanding of the latest techniques being used within the catering industry. It will also offer them an awareness of the abundance of wonderful Lancashire produce we have available to us within our County.”
The final of the competition will take place in the Autumn at a Fleetwood venue and the first ever Fleetwood Young Chef of the Year announced.
Dr Spencer sums up, “Eating the right food can bring about major health benefits both physically and mentally for all of us. So, let’s get cooking!”.
For further information visit www.fleetwoodyoungchef.co.uk