Gunwharf Quays 2nd July 2010

After a gruelling round of heats in the professional teaching of Highbury College and a live 'cook-off ' final in the middle of Gunwharf Quays, a pair of Year 10 students from Springfield Technology College in Drayton were crowned the winners of the 'Celebrity Chef Challenge 2010'.

Organised by Portsmouth EBP, the challenge was open to teams of school children from Years 7 to 10 who made their own menus and supplied their own ingredients. This year, participants were asked to produce a two course lunch menu of classic British dishes, but with a twist.

'Students were also asked to demonstrate that they had given some thought to the ethical and environmental issues that are constantly being debated around food production such as Carbon Footprints and Fairtrade', explained Claire Jolliffe, EBP Project Co-ordinator for the Celebrity Chef Challenge. 'We encouraged seasonal ingrediants to be sourced locally and each team had to record the process of decision making and rationale behind their final choices.'

The heats took place in the state of the arts kitchen of Highbury College and judged by local Celebrity Chef, Susie Carter, Head of Chef of the Hilton Hotel, John Banham and Chef Assessor at Highbury College, Simon Martin. They were present for the duration observing teams at work, persuing the menus and Challenge Logs and speaking to the teams about their food and how their menus evolved.

The two finalist teams from Crookhorn College of Technology and Springfield Technology College went head to head at the Gunwharf Quays Food Festival. In the end, Sophie Cutley and Charlotte Payne, both from Cosham and Year 10 at Springfield Technology College claimed the trophy with a delicious chicken breast wrapped in bacon and crushed new patatoes and decadent red berry crumble with clotted cream for dessert.

'We are best friends and have worked together a lot on dance and singing performances, but we have never cooked together,' said Sophie. 'We never thought we would win, but we had great fun.'

Both girls were presented their trophy by reowned chef, Raymond Blanc and the winning menu will be made available in the Tradewinds Restaurant at the Hilton hotel over the summer.


Case Study from Lorna Coe, Food Techology Teacher

"Sophie and Charlotte rose to the challenge of designing a seasonal lunch menu and worked calmly and methodically, as a team to produce it. They overcame their nerves to cook in front of a large crowd who had gathered to see Monsieur Blanc. The competition and the following radio interview on Express FM were really exiting opportunities which they will never forget. They appreciated the support given by all the judges and look forward to the Masterclass on offer"

http://www.aboutmyarea.co.uk/Hampshire/Portsmouth/PO6/News/Local-News/170058-Springfield-Students-win-EBP-Chef-Challenge-at-Gunwharf-Quays