story by: dave king

Scottish teenager, Rowan Haines, was crowned the national winner of Rotary Young Chef at the finals in Alcester, Warwickshire.

Ten years ago, Tom Hamblet, then a student in West Sussex, won Rotary Young Chef before carving out a successful career in the industry and going on to win the BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals, last December.

At the national finals, 14-year-old Rowan saw off some tough competition from across Great Britain & Ireland to win the accolade, given two hours to prepare and cook two original dishes

A student at Crieff High in Perth & Kinross, Rowan had won his way through to the finals are winning the Rotary District 1320 (Scotland South) final. He was sponsored by Crieff Rotary Club.

In the finals, Rowan served for the judges Tagliatelle Sorrentina. This consisted of tuna, anchovies and capers in a rich tomato sauce with homemade spinach tagliatelle. The dish was enhanced with zesty lemon caviar alongside a delicate parmesan basket of green salad.

Rowan’s dessert was Amalfi Limone, which was a light lemon syllabub atop a crisp ginger crunch base, accompanied by a mixed berry honey compote. The dessert was complemented with an almond florentine.

Rowan will be set for a culinary experience of a lifetime, as he also took home the top prize of a trip to Tuscany, courtesy of competition sponsors Filippo Berio.

The trip involves spending time in Filippo Berio’s kitchens, working alongside their chefs, and a visit to their olive groves.

RUNNER UP

Katrina Nightingale

Runner-up was 15-year-old Katrina Nightingale who was sponsored by Wiveliscombe Rotary Club near Taunton, Somerset, who won the District 1200 finals (Rotary Mid Wessex – Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset).

For her two courses, Katrina served a main dish of pan-seared Exmoor pork tenderloin, fondant potato, Ray’s veg herb-roasted carrots, parsnip purée and purple sprouting broccoli with a Somerset honey mustard cream sauce.

Katrina’s dessert was lemon mousse with fresh raspberries, served with white chocolate-drizzled Viennese biscuits.

dish of the day

Caja Ronneburg

There was also an award for dish of the day which was presented to 14-year-old Caja Ronneburg, sponsored by Alcester & Bidford Rotary Club in Warwickshire in District 1060 (Heart of England).

Her dish of pan-roasted fillet of sea bass on squid ink spaghetti with samphire, vegetables, watercress and wild garlic puree, and a white wine crème fraiche sauce won the judges’ praises.

Olive oil manufacturer, Filippo Berio, have been the Young Chef’s main sponsor for more than 10 years.

The company’s marketing manager, Lisa Mullins was one of the judges, who has been an active supporter of the competition attending every final for the past 15 years. She was joined by Elaine Wroblewska, who has recently retired from a career in catering, finishing teaching hospitality and catering at the Heart of Worcestershire College in Redditch.

The judges said in their report: “The standards this year were exceptionally high. As the young people's skills improve annually, selecting a winner has become increasingly challenging.”

Rotarian Daniel Chandler presented a selection of colour-coded chef’s knives to Caja Ronneburg for her dish of the day.

The other finalists were Esther Hine (Ascot Rotary Club, Berkshire), James Hackman (Chichester Priory Rotary Club, West Sussex), Harry Townley (Ambleside & Kirkstone Rotary Club, Cumbria).