A Grove School student’s culinary creation will be on the menu this week after reaching the next stage of a national cookery competition.
Rhys Whiten’s dish of stuffed chicken breast with feta cheese, mushrooms, roasted vegetables and cous cous salad will be served to Grove students on Friday before he competes in the regional finals of the Rotary Young Chef competition this Saturday.
Rhys, 13, and another Grove student, Corrine Brown, 16, competed in the district finals last week after coming through school heats in January. Corinne just missed out after cooking Parma-wrapped chicken with red wine sauce, potato wedges and rocket salad.
But Rhys scored 93 marks out of 100 for his recipe and hopes it will help him reach the national final next month, with a chance of winning a trip to Italy and £250.
He said: “There was a lot of pressure and as soon as we got in there, lots of people were shaking because they’d never done anything like it before.
“At first, I forgot what I had to do because of nerves but luckily I had my papers with me telling me .
“I was very happy with what I cooked and my friends were very pleased for me and very excited.”
The competition is run by the Rotary Club of Great Britain and Ireland and Italian olive oil producers Filippo Berio for students aged between 11 and 17.
Rhys and Corrine had to prepare their meals in 45 minutes with a budget of £6.
He said: “I enjoy cooking very much and I’ve been wanting to do it since I was very young.
“Since I’ve been going to secondary school, my teacher has pushed me along and I’ve got even better.”
Rhys has been getting advice on his three-course meal of quiche, stuffed chicken and lemon mousse for Saturday’s event from mentor and Goldstone Hall chef John Thompson.
Grove food technology teacher Nooshin Daragheh said: “Both students were well-prepared, used their time effectively and produced fantastic dishes in the district final.
“Rhys is an enthusiastic chef who tries his best when cooking and he deserves his place in the Regional Final.”
By Winston Brown
