Above: Chef Marek (centre) with winners Rory (L) and Rocco (R)
Head Chef Marek Dziedzic, from Michelin Star restaurant Hjem in Northumberland, visited Dame Allan’s Schools this week to judge the cooking skills of some budding chefs.
Pupils taking part in the ‘Junior Masterchef’ competition at Dame Allan’s were delighted to have a very special guest judge for their competition, with Chef Marek being invited into the Food Tech classroom to witness them whip up a custom two-course meal.
The annual competition, which is organised and led by Head of Food Technology Mrs Danielle Crawley, sees pupils from Years 7 - 10 compete for the Junior Masterchef crown by cooking a two-course meal from scratch. Everything from fresh pasta, to sauces, desserts and garnishes are made by hand by the talented pupils involved. Pupils can enter as a pair, or individually.
Mrs Crawley commented: “Our pupils impress me with their culinary skills every year, but this year the standards were exceptionally high! It was so difficult to choose an overall winner and everyone who took part should be very proud.”
The winners of the competition were Rory (Y9) and Rocco (Y9). The boys cooked a delicious meal of handmade gnocchi and Biscoff cannolis, inspired by holidays to Italy (and Rocco’s love of Biscoff!). Other entries included a Chinese-inspired sticky beef dish, a healthy berry crumble, and several versions of Tiramisu.
Above: Some of the food created by Dame Allan's Pupils
Chef Marek praised the high standard of cooking taking place, commenting: “It is wonderful to see young people who are passionate about cooking - I was really impressed with the flavours on display today. I wasn’t much older than them when I began my culinary career! It can be a really tough industry but it is so rewarding. A massive well done to all of the pupils involved.”
The event was very kindly sponsored by Newcastle-based wealth management company Tier One Capital, who connected the school with Chef Marek and generously provided gift vouchers for the winners and all of the pupils who took part.
Mr Paul Blight, Head of Wealth Management at Tier One said: "Attending this Junior Masterchef event was truly inspiring — the creativity, passion, and talent these young chefs brought to the kitchen was nothing short of amazing!".
Above: Tier One Capital kindly sponsored the event