Budding Young Chefs Start 2009 with a Bang

2009 has started on a high note for budding young chefs Caitlin Grainger and Leanne Maitland from Charleston Academy.  The two young Highland chefs, who won the coveted title of Highland Feast Junior Chefs 2008, can take pride in their culinary talent as they see their own recipe published on 7,000 recipe cards distributed in local Tesco stores.

The publication of the Tesco recipe cards is a result of the Highland Feast event Battle of the Chefs which took place in late 2008 and was sponsored by Tesco, the Highland Council, the Inverness Common Good Fund and Ian Macdonald Insurance & Financial Services. The competition, aimed at 3rd and 4th year Home Economic pupils, was designed to educate young people on Highland fayre and the value of utilising the range of fine produce around them. The cook-off featured eight participating teams from secondary schools across the Highlands who fought against the clock to create innovative yet healthy meals.

Yvonne Crook, Director of Highland Feast and Managing Director of Highland based View Marketing says “We are delighted with the success of 2008’s Battle of the Chefs. It provided a great opportunity both to showcase the quality of food and drink available in the Highlands and to harness the Highland’s younger generation’s skills and enthusiasm for food. In response to the positive feedback from the audience and participants we hope to replicate the event again this autumn.”

Winners Caitlin and Leanne created a sumptuous dish at the adrenaline fuelled Highland Feast Battle of the Chefs final consisting of Rothiemurchus trout with crushed potatoes, watercress and red onion salad, topped with a parsley and lemon crème fraiche. Their outstanding recipe stunned the judges and secured their success of having their winning menu published on the 7,000 Tesco recipe cards.

Leanne Maitland says "We are so pleased to have our recipe featured on the Tesco recipe cards and for it to be available to such a wide audience. We had great fun planning our recipes and sourcing the local produce for our dishes. We really enjoyed the Battle of the Chefs as it let us experiment in the kitchen and try out new styles of cooking."

Runners-up Lauren Fraser and Andrew Mackenzie from Inverness High School are similarly enjoying success resulting from the Battle of the Chefs.  Andrew has since been employed by Allan Little at Riverhouse Restaurant having demonstrated great talent at the event. Both Lauren and Andrew have also been asked to cater for Inverness High School staff at the launch of Homecoming Scotland 2009.

Highland Feast works hard to contribute to the local community and Battle of the Chefs 2008 demonstrated a positive impact on schools across the Highlands, inspiring pupils to take to the kitchen enthusing them to use the wealth of local produce here in the Highlands.

Plans are currently underway to hold another Battle of the Chefs event in the autumn of 2009.