Thurrock Cooking Competition

Thurrock College Hosts Prestigious Cookery Competition

 In partnership with the Thurrock Rotary Club, South Essex College hosted the next generation of young chefs at Thurrock campus for a college welcome and cooking competition. 12 Contestants from three local schools joined us to compete in producing the three course menu designed and demonstrated by Chef Steve Deal. 

Contestants received a demo of all three dishes then set to work to recreate the ambitious menu in two hours, testing their cooking skills and planning set within a professional kitchen. 

Eggs Florentine
Produced by Finley

Chicken and Asparagus Risotto

Produced by George

Deconstructed Cheesecake

Produced by Mia

The judging was carried out by Steve of SEC and Corin our partner from the Thurrock Rotary club. This allowed diverse scoring from the views of an industry professional and a customer to enable some well-rounded feedback. 

The awards ceremony took place straight after the cook-off. The winner was Finley, of Gateway Academy who won for the quality and execution of all three dishes to a professional standard. Finley was awarded 54 points out of a possible 60 and received the grand prize of Thurrock Rotary Chef of the Year Trophy 2023.

A representative from the Rotary Club said: “The club would like to thank all the competitors and their teachers for making the day an educational and fun event.” Steve Deal said: "All contestants performed to an excellent standard and produced some fantastic food. We hope the experience for our guests supports their consideration towards a future in catering and look forward to seeing them enrol soon.”

All contestants left with a SEC goodie bag and prospectus, better equipped to shape their future.