YOUNG chefs in Dawlish have been putting their best dishes on the table for the return of the Rotary Young Chef competition. 

Coming back following the pandemic, the competition saw Dawlish College students eagerly take part in the nationwide Rotary Club contest to find the best young chef. 

Dawlish Water Rotarians ran the Dawlish competition where eight Year 10 chefs were judged by Matthew Tilt, chef/proprietor of the Rodean, Kenton, and Malcolm Protheroe, recently chef/proprietor of the Mount Pleasant Inn, Dawlish Warren, and the Anchor, Cockwood.

Cooking standards were described as high and the judges commented that every dish produced by the young chefs was worthy of being served as part of an evening meal.

It was a close contest, but eventually the winner was declared as Alex Froude, with second and third runners-up Clay Palmer and Darius Caba respectively. 

Alex Froude receives his award
Alex Froude receives his award (-)

All competitors received certificates, the winners received prizes and Alex received a trophy presented by Dawlish College Head, Sam Banks.

Alex will now have the opportunity to go through to the next round at Rotary’s District level to be held in Tavistock next year.

Food Technology teacher Lisa Mort said that not only was this a fun and challenging competition for the students, it was an excellent rehearsal for their GCSEs.

Rotary Club co-ordinator Stephen Allen said: ‘We were delighted to see the young chefs of Dawlish College compete so enthusiastically in this prestigious Rotary event, which is a great way of encouraging the development of their cookery skills.’