PÁDRAIC TAKES TASTY TITLE

17-YEAR-OLD KENMARE STUDENT WINS TOP CULINARY AWARD

PAN-FRIED duck breast served with potato rosti, buttered spinach, honey and butter tossed carrots with sweet potato crisps and a celeriac and savoy cabbage spring roll on the side – that’s the plate that propelled a young Kilgarvan man to the pinnacle of a national chef competition this week.

Take a bow Pádraig Randles! Due to the talented manner in which he pan-friend his duck to perfection the 17-year-old Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, Kenmare, student was named the Flogas Supreme Apprentice Chef of 2017.

It was in the hothouse of Tralee IT’s training kitchens that Pádraic successfully juggled his myriad ingredients to win the competition outright on Thursday against scores of students from across Munster.

Pádraic, who has been working in the Ladies’ View café at the famous beauty spot of the same name for the last three years said he was ‘delighted’ with the win.

“I’ve been cooking since I was eight or nine, watching my mom initially and then helping her bake. I suppose that’s where it comes from,” Pádraic told The Kerryman.

“And I’ve learned a lot from Google as well, just watching cooking videos!”

It was Transition Year last year that really afforded Pádraic the chance to explore his culinary passion further.

“It was mainly Transition Year last year as we had to do home economics in it and I got to do the Apprentice- ship competition for the first time.” Thanks to a cool head, practice runs and a well-devised time plan Pádraic was able to bring it all together on his second day of asking last Thursday. Now, he’s seriously thinking of taking the passion even further to the point of studying it full time at third-level. “It’s something I’m considering alright!”

Cork students Emily O’Hara, Lauren Wall and Kelly English came in runner-up to the Kerry talent.

Pádraic meanwhile left the IT that evening with a new set of professional knives, €1,000-worth of equipment for the school, a year’s subscription to Easyfood Magazine and a professional food styling session at Easyfood Magazine this summer - his equally tasty prize!

Photo by Domnick Walsh Flogas Supreme Apprentice Chef of the Year 17-year-old Padraic Randles from Kenmare serving up a winner at the IT Tralee north campus, pictured here with runners-up Lauren Wall, Emily O’Hara and Kelly English.