The Colwall Rotary Young Chef of the Year competition 2018 took place at The Chase Academy, Malvern.

Eight young people, chosen after three heats were held in the Academy, took part and gave the judges a real treat, as their main dishes and desserts were all prepared with skill and passed the taste test with flying colours.

Rotarian Jim Richardson said: “Faye Borthwick, their teacher, has created a department where her pupils are full of enthusiasm and a desire to learn to cook well.

“Over the years this competition has been running, the standard of food preparation has impressed us and the judges looked forward to an afternoon of chatting with the contestants, discovering what they enjoy cooking, watching the way the young chefs work and most importantly – tasting their food.”

Main courses this year included spaghetti bolognaise, spaghetti carbonara, macaroni cheese, beef chilli, chicken Madras, chicken wrapped in pancetta and a garlic and lime chicken.

Marks were given for the preparation of the dish; whether shop bought sauces were used or if everything was prepared from scratch, and, of course, the flavour.

Desserts were banoffee pies, vanilla mousse, Oreo cheesecake, chocolate bowls filled with cream and fresh fruit, chocolate brownies, profiteroles with chocolate sauce and finally, a chocolate and orange mousse.

Abigail Knight, who is in Year 10, emerged as the winner with a beautifully made macaroni cheese and the most delicious chocolate and orange mousse.

The spokesman said: “We were very impressed with her skill, organisation and presentation.

“In second place was Lauren Wall, who is in Year 7 and the youngest pupil in the competition. She prepared spaghetti carbonara followed by an individual banoffee pie. Both dishes were beautifully presented and we were impressed with the way she organised her time.

“In third place was Michael Anstey, who is in Year 10, and he gave us beef chilli followed by profiteroles. What a treat to see him confidently making his choux pastry and the profiteroles were magnificent.

“It was a very close fought contest and the standard this year was higher than ever. Everyone who took part should be very proud of themselves. We applaud them all and look forward to seeing Abigail again in January when she will be cooking along with the chef from The Park Hotel in Colwall, before going on to the district finals of the competition.”