Young Chef success for James

Six students from across the UK and Ireland competed in the Young Chef of the Year National finals, sponsored by the Rotary Club at St Benedict’s Catholic High School, Alcester.

Chichester Free School’s Year 11 student, James Hackman, after going through Area and Area Finalist rounds, District and then a Regional Cluster round became the Southern representative for this year’s event.

Throughout the competition, judges have given James several accolades for his stunning dishes from his venison steaks with fondant potato, vegetables and garnish right through to his final dishes which were:

Duo of wild rabbit, seared loin and leg, black pudding boudin, celeriac fondant, wilted spinach, baby carrots, wild garlic pesto and rabbit jus.

Dark chocolate Cointreau and amaretti torte with honeycomb, salted caramel tuile, scented with Seville orange. Students had two hours to create and plate their dishes with four judges watching everything they did.

The judges said all the dishes were to an extremely high standard with lots of innovation and creative thinking being displayed – and they were very impressed with the level of hygiene used and the logical order that dishes were made in.

After a long deliberation, James came away from the competition as a Finalist and Best in the South. He has been rewarded with trophies at each round as well as receiving the Rotary Young Chef of the Year Southern Shield.

Alison Mason, CFS

Governor stated “As a governor of CFS I was enormously proud to accompany Miss Pye, James Hackman, (Year 11) and his family to the National Finals of Rotary Club Young Chef of the Year, in Alcester just outside Birmingham on

Saturday.

James had competed in five rounds, in order to reach the finals, beating some very talented chefs along the way. The competition was fierce with all regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland represented. James was placed in the top six young chefs in the country, from a starting field of more than 6500 entries.

The senior judge sought James out after the competition to comment on his talent and creativity. A very proud moment for James, his family and Miss Pye who has mentored him through each stage of the competition.: “What a fantastic outcome and a great ambassador for our school. Well done James.” Tanya Pye, Food Preparation and Nutrition Teacher at CFS, said:

“James was extremely calm throughout the rounds and did so well with the pressure of the event. To get through to the National Finals is a huge achievement and the amount of time and dedication he put into his dishes was outstanding.

“He has been working so hard throughout this year to get to where he is now and the hard work has certainly paid off. The judges gave such delightful feedback about James, one stating they would happily have him in his kitchen and another saying they could easily see their dishes in a Michelin star restaurant. “I am as proud as a teacher can be for James and the hard work, dedication and spirit he has put in and hope he celebrates this amazing achievement with his friends and family who have supported him every step of the way. A huge well done to James. I hope one day to see him on Masterchef.” 4Sight Vision Support is delighted to have recently achieved The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Visibly Better Employer Certification and is encouraging other organisations across West Sussex to consider attaining this Quality Standard.

It is designed to support employers in assessing their recruitment and retention practices, and provide the practical tools required for an accessible environment for people with sight loss.

As a result, organisations will widen the talent pool available, increasing their employee diversity by attracting and retaining more blind and partially sighted talent into their workforce.a Yougov poll commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment, and funded by Thomas Pocklington Trust, revealed that 48% of businesses do not have accessible recruitment processes and a shocking

25% of employers said they would not be willing to make workplace adaptations to employ a blind or partially sighted person – despite this being a legal requirement. The polling also found many misconceptions and myths about visually impaired people’s ability to work. Kirstie Thomas, CEO at 4Sight Vision Support commented, “We are delighted to have achieved this quality standard which recognises the benefits of having an inclusive and diverse workforce. We would encourage businesses and other organisations across the county to find out more about achieving it for themselves.”

The Certification scheme is free, and on completion, employers will be able to assure others by displaying the RNIB Visibly Better Employer Certification logo. If your own organisation or employer might be interested in learning more about the scheme, please visit www. rnib.org.uk/living-withsight-loss/equality-andemployment/employers/ visibly-better-employerquality-standard or email enquiries@4sight.org.uk or call 01243 828555.