The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Cookery students enjoy sweet taste of success at competition
Fife College cookery students are off to the USA after proving that they are rising to the top of their field.
Nicola Reilly, 44, Thomas MacNeil, 22, and Rafal Kasprzak, 34, won the 2017 Brakes Bros Scotland Student Chef Challenge after impressing some of Scotland’s top foodies at the event at the City of Glasgow College.
Their success means that they will now compete against students from around the world in Michigan in October, as well as securing a three-day placement at the world-renowned Gleneagles Hotel.
Competing against other Scottish colleges, the Fife College team prepared a three-course meal for judges of Scrabster landed loin of cod with seaweed gremolata crispy skin, cauliflower cheese and pickled onions followed by a main of wild Cairngorm loin of venison, venison haggis, whiskey turnip fondant, truffle celeriac puree and game jus.
Dessert was a chocolate crémeux, Drambuie savarin, Scottish berries and lime curd ice cream.
Michael Henderson, chef lecturer at Fife College, said: “The Student Chef Challenge is a big one and in the past was the competition everyone wanted to win so we’re very happy it’s back. “It’s a different environment than what the students are used to. “Nothing prepares you for cooking in front of a panel of judges and the pressure was really on, but the hard work paid off.”