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A young Jersey chef has taken a step further in a national cooking competition with the help of a black butter-glazed dish and a sumptuous crème brûlée dessert.
Grainville student Molly McGinnnety placed third in Saturday’s district final of the Rotary Young Chef Competition, where she competed against students from Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire.
She impressed the judges with her Jersey-inspired menu of black-butter glazed pork belly with creamed potatoes and roasted vegetables, and a dessert of crème brûlée with raspberries.
The third-place finish means Molly has qualified for the "cluster final" where she will take up her spatula and whisk against students from other districts next month – hoping to reach the regional and national finals.
Pictured: Molly secured her spot at the weekend's district finals after she won against local students in early February.
This comes after she triumphed as overall winner at the local heat earlier this month, where students from Jersey's secondary schools also won prizes for best use of local produce and best dishes not from the winner's menu.
The local Rotary Young Chef Competition returned last year after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
In the national competition, organised by the Rotary Club of Great Britain, students aged between 13 and 14 years of age are given two hours to prepare a healthy two-course meal for no more than £18.
Rotarian Bob Marshall, who organises the local competition rounds, explained that Jersey students have had much success in recent years.
On four occasions, local students have reached the regional finals while in 2018, Sophie Robinson won her regional heat which saw her flambéing in the national final as one of the top eight out of over five-and-half-thousand initial entrants
Pictured top: Molly's two courses, ready for tasting.
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