West Hatch High School student George Green cooked up a treat as he was named runner-up in the Rotary Young Chef area final.

The Year 9 student prepared a classic smoked haddock risotto served with a refreshing pomegranate salad.

He now gets the opportunity to spend a day working alongside a professional chef in the Indian restaurant, Kanchans, in Gants Hill.

Also competing in the area final was West Hatch Year 9 student Melissa Toplis who cooked a succulent pork loin steak stuffed with figs and blue cheese, celeriac mash, steamed green beans and glazed baby carrots, served with a smooth and creamy mushroom sauce.

The competition encourages the young chefs to develop their cookery skills, develop food preparation skills, consider healthy eating options, show their organisational and planning skills and their ability to cope in a demanding situation.
West Hatch High School Design and Technology teacher Raj Narwal said: “Both George and Melissa worked exceptionally well to produce a healthy main course meal from scratch and served for two in less than an hour-and-a-half.

“These talented chefs produced such exquisite, mouth-watering dishes, it was truly amazing!”