WITH the help of a black-butter-glazed dish, a young Jersey chef has taken a step further in a national cooking competition.
Grainville student Molly McGinnnety placed third in the district final of the Rotary Young Chef Competition, where she competed against students from Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire.
She impressed judges with her Jersey-inspired menu of black-butter-glazed pork belly with creamed potatoes and roasted vegetables, and a dessert of crème brûlée with raspberries.
The third-place finish means that Molly has qualified for the “cluster final” where she will take up her spatula and whisk against students from other districts next month – hoping to reach the regional and national finals.
This comes after she triumphed as overall winner at the local heat earlier this month, where students from Jersey’s secondary schools also won prizes for best use of local produce and best dishes not from the winner’s menu.
The local Rotary Young Chef Competition returned last year after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
In the national competition, organised by the Rotary Club of Great Britain, students aged between 13 and 14 years of age are given two hours to prepare a healthy two-course meal for no more than £18.
Rotarian Bob Marshall, who organises the local competition rounds, explained that Jersey students have had much success in recent years.
On four occasions, local students have reached the regional finals while, in 2018, Sophie Robinson won her regional heat, which saw her flambéing in the national final as one of the top eight out of over 5,500 initial entrants. The competition returned in 2023 after a break for Covid.
