City of Glasgow College wins Country Range Student Chef Challenge for second year

The City of Glasgow College has retained its Country Range Student Chef Challenge crown at the competition's 25th anniversary final held at ScotHot last week.

Alan Coats, Ance Kristone and Andreau Talla claimed the title again, competing against seven other teams, including Loughborough College and Carlisle College who picked up second and third place respectively.

Under the eye of City of Glasgow lecturer Robbie Phillips, the college team demonstrated skill and precision, high-quality flavour and presentation to repeat last year's success. The team win a day's work experience at a Michelin-starred restaurant and a foodie tour of London.

The winning menu from the City of Glasgow College featured:

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• Main - Roast duck breast, glazed duck leg, duck ‘bacon', caramelised onion, jerusalem artichoke, cabbage, brown sauce
• Dessert - Classic chocolate tart, caramelised banana, pecan crisp, salted popcorn, popcorn sorbet
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The theme for the challenge this year focused on the core skills and techniques catering students study on a second-year professional cookery course, testing their knowledge of both classical cooking and the more modern methods of the last 25 years.

The Craft Guild of Chefs' chairman of judges Chris Basten said: "A massive congratulations to City of Glasgow College who are definitely deserved winners this year. As we expected from the final, there was a fantastic array of skills on shows, from traditional and classic cooking methods to newer techniques and ingredients. Each team can hold their heads up high at a fantastic job done, as cooking a three-course, four-cover menu in front of a live crowd under strict competition standards is no mean feat."

Emma Holden, organiser of the Country Range Student Chef Challenge, added: "A huge congratulations to the City of Glasgow College team on winning this year's competitive challenge in what is a very special 25th anniversary year.

"All the teams who made the final can be incredibly proud of themselves. The evidence from this competition shows that the UK's professional kitchens are in safe hands. With our industry already facing a skills shortage, cooking competitions are vital as not only do they help raise the profile of the industry and prepare students for a future in professional kitchens, but they also showcase the fantastic student and lecturer talent around the UK and the brilliant catering colleges with which they are associated. The standard shown in this year's competition has been amazing so a big thanks to all the teams and lecturers for all their effort."