JCG's 'Skills for Life' cooking competition opens to adults

Saturday 07 October 2017

For the first time in 11 years, the successful JCG/Genuine Jersey ‘Skills for Life’ cookery competition is open to adults, in addition to all secondary school students, following huge interest from parents.

Entrants will have to create a healthy, balanced main dish which embraces local and seasonal produce. The best menus will be selected by a panel of judges and the chefs behind them will be invited to create their dish against the clock.

Held in partnership with Genuine Jersey and organised and hosted by Jersey College for Girls, Skills for Life aims to capture the spirit of shows such as The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef. 

The chosen adult finalists will prepare their dishes on 14 October and their creations will be judged by a panel of renowned culinary experts, including Longueville Manor’s Executive Chef, Andrew Baird and well-known restaurateur Marcus Calvani. Adult entrants are in with a chance to win a two-hour pasta making master class, along with a three course lunch with wine pairing at La Cantina. Further prizes include a £50 voucher from SandpiperCI to be spent at any of their Food Halls and a handmade cheese/chopping board from Genuine Jersey member, RA Design.

The decision to extend the competition to adults this year was made to help raise funds for a JCG school trip to their International Women’s Academy Global College partner orphanage in Ghana in October 2018. JCG students in collaboration with their IWA Club partners in Shanghai have already raised enough to offer one Ghanaian student a university scholarship but more money is needed. ​

The overall aim is to raise as much money as possible to enable JCG students to work with the orphanage and provide a community project that will benefit the girls who live there for years to come. The goal is not to provide money and walk away, but to assist them by providing opportunities and ventures for the girls to become self-sufficient. Adult entrants will be asked if they can make a donation to this worthwhile cause.

Ongoing sponsorship for the student section of the competition has been received from Modern Hotels, Mange Tout, Dunn Ross Fisheries, Rondel’s Farm Shop, Longueville Manor, Genuine Jersey, The Boathouse Group, Shaun Rankin and Vienna Bakery. Shaun Rankin of Ormer restaurant will also be participating, judging the dishes of the student finalists.

Organiser Antoinette De Louche, Head of Food and Nutrition at JCG, said: “The Skills for Life competition is a chance for the whole Jersey community to become involved in the promotion of healthy eating. I am sure that there are many budding adult chefs who have perhaps seen Bake Off and want to have a go themselves. It also gives parents a chance to participate alongside their children. We really hope the contest captures the imagination and taste buds of the whole Island!”

John Garton, Genuine Jersey Chief Executive, said: “This is a fantastic event that we hope will get everyone thinking about how they prepare their meals and where their food comes from. We talk a lot about the importance of buying local, but the best advertisement for that is simply to taste it. This competition not only teaches students – and now adults - about the great resources we have on our doorstep, but gives whole families the opportunity to sample a wide range of unique and often award-winning Jersey produce.”

Application to the competition is now open and details of how to get involved, or make a donation, can be found at www.genuinejersey.com. Entries can be submitted until 11 October and finalists will need to be available to attend a cook-off on 14 October.