Sheldon Student Wins Wiltshire Chef of the Year

Congratulations to Year 10 student, Vita, for being named Junior South West Chef of the Year, Wiltshire Region! She is one of 4 finalists from Sheldon and the first from our school to take the top prize. Vita will be mentored by head judge Rob Potter, Executive Chef at the Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe.

Of the competition, Mr Potter commented that he was thrilled to see the level of skill that 14- and 15-year-olds were able to demonstrate. He was pleased to see teenagers learning valuable cooking skills and felt that the students demonstrated techniques above and beyond his expectations.

For the competition, Vita prepared a beetroot ravioli filled with smoked brown trout, Somerset ricotta and lemon, served with a Wiltshire watercress pesto. All the competitors had 90 minutes to prepare two identical dishes highlighting local ingredients using the commercial kitchens of Wiltshire college. In Vita’s dish, the trout was caught and smoked by her father.

The typically challenging competition was made even more difficult by the sweltering heat last week. “All of our students worked well under extreme pressure and extreme heat”, commented Mr Finch, Head of Food at Sheldon.

All of the Year 10 Food Preparation and Nutrition students had an opportunity to enter the competition. During a two-week module in class, students looked at local ingredients and created menus to fit the brief. Eight students were selected for a school-based competition and four progressed to the Wiltshire Region final. Along with Vita, the Sheldon Chefs included Ethan, Joseph and Martha who prepared beautiful dishes including brioche and pastry (no easy feat in the heat!)

“The students have been on a food journey since Year 7,” explained Mr Finch. “The four finalists have used everything they’ve learned and have reached the pinnacle of what they can do. I hope they inspire other students with their impressive skills in the kitchen!”

As winner of the Wiltshire regional competition, Vita will now go on to compete in the South West Chef of the Year final, held in Exeter in October. She will prepare her winning ravioli dish again with adjustments made after her mentoring sessions.  We are extremely proud of Vita and know that she will do very well in the next level of the competition.

Thank you to our DT Faculty and our Food teachers for supporting our students and giving them this opportunity to demonstrate their talent and passion for cooking.