A 15-YEAR-OLD student has secured a spot in the regional finals of a cooking competition after impressing the judges with a homemade gnocchi and a poached pear pannacotta.
Freya Thorogood, a Year 10 student at Jersey College for Girls, won the Rotary Young Chef competition.
She competed against 11 other local students, who were challenged to cook a two-course meal within two hours with a budget of just £18.
The 11th annual contest, organised by rotarian Bob Marshall, took place on Saturday 31 January at Highlands College.
The two-course meal, which secured Freya the Jersey Dairy trophy, was a homemade gnocchi with a winter greens sauce and, for dessert, she made pannacotta with poached pear and a tuile biscuit.
“I have cooked at home before, and I bake a lot of the time, but this is definitely a different experience to what I am usually doing,” said Freya.
“I thought the contest was quite fun. It was stressful at the last minute, but I enjoyed it.”
Participants cooked for a panel of three judges, including last year’s winner Emma Presig – who is now a pastry demi chef de partie – alongside Longueville Manor Hotel executive chef Andrew Baird, and Randalls executive chef David Cameron.
Freya has now secured a spot in the district final on Saturday 21 February in Southampton.
She will be cooking the same menu at the final, but must also create a cost and timing plan to give to the judges ahead of time.
Freya explained that, although she isn’t sure what she wants to do in the future yet, cooking is a good option that she can keep in mind.
Eden Hannah was announced as the winner of the Genuine Jersey Trophy, Ella Hutchins was named the winner of the best main course, and the best dessert award went to Beatrix Dodds.
