Emily Beth Jones is Llanelli Rotary's Young Chef for 2015

Watch your step Jamie Oliver; there’s some competition for you on the horizon from the talented schoolchildren of Llanelli.
Llanelli Rotary Club staged their third annual Young Chef competition at Brynwgyn School.
“It was a wonderful occasion and a great showpiece for the culinary skills of young Llanelli people,” said Llanelli Rotary President Hywel Bassett.
The title of Llanelli Rotary Club Young Chef 2015 went to 14-year-old Bryngwyn pupil Emily Beth Jones.

Her winning three-course meal for two consisted of –

• Fresh carrot soup served with soft white poppyseed bread. 
• Duck and Savoy Cabbage served with sliced new potatoes. Savoy Cabbage combined with slices of streaky bacon. 
• Traditional Lemon Drizzle Cake covered with lemon glaze and served with vanilla ice cream. 

“It was a well planned menu, cooked with a sense of style and well presented,” said judge Anna Brown, senior chef at Llanelly House.
Her co-judge Stewart Williams, development chef at Castell Howell, was equally impressed.
He said: “All 10 contestants worked really hard and coped well with the stress of cooking to a competition deadline. It was a difficult competition to judge, but we felt Emily was a very worthy winner.”
The runner-up was 14-year-old Bryngwyn pupil Evan Job, one of two boys in the competition.

Evan’s menu was –

• Welsh leek and potato soup, served with a crispy baked roll and butter curls. 
• ‘Hot in Here’ Chicken Chasseur, served on a bed of creamy mashed potato with a side dish of steamed seasonal vegetables. 
• Mojito-style chocolate mousse, served with a touch of lime and served with a mint leaf and dusted with icing sugar. 

Winner Emily received a trophy and now goes forward to the next round of the Rotary competition and a district final in Cowbridge. In addition, she will also get to spend some ‘work experience’ time working in the kitchen at Llanelly House with chef Anna Brown.
All the contestants received souvenir inscribed wooden spoons and aprons and a selection of goodies from Castell Howell.
The Young Chef tournament is part of a national competition organised by Rotary International Britain and Ireland RIBI in conjunction with Fillippo Berio.
One of the organisers of the Llanelli heat of the competition was Rotarian Alison Evans. She said: “RIBI believes it is highly important to encourage and develop creativity in young people, and this includes creativity in the kitchen.
“Cooking among young people is a growing interest and a valuable life skill. Schools seem to agree and hence the RIBI Young Chef competition moves forward from strength to strength each year producing some superb quality cooking from our young people aged from 11 to 17.”
The competition was open to students aged 11 to 17 years. The challenge was to prepare a three-course meal for two people in two hours, with a budget of £15.
Rotarian Mark Evans, one of the co-organisers of the event, said: “The standard was quite exceptional and the judges were full of praise for the effort, ambition and creative ingenuity of the young chefs.
“Our grateful thanks go to Bryngwyn School for hosting the event, to all the pupils who took part and to the mums, dads and others who turned up on the night to add a reall buzz to the competition.”
Other contestants were -
Gwennan Davies Year 7 Bryngwyn School
Lily Jones Year 9 Bryngwyn School
Teo Laucadamo Year 9 St Michael’s School
Amidee O’Driscoll Year 8 Bryngwyn School
Caitlin Polson St John Lloyd School
Abigail Price Year 9 Bryngwyn School
Brooklyn Smith St John Lloyd School
Hannah Thomas Year 9 Bryngwyn School

R.I.B.I.Young Chef is designed to encourage young people to:

• Develop cookery skills 
• Develop food presentation skills 
• Consider healthy eating options and food hygiene issues 
• Prove their organisational and planning skills 
• Prove their ability to cope in a demanding situation. 

Weblink –

www.llanellirotary.com

Picture slideshow from the event -