Young Chef success for James

Chichester Free School's Year 11 student, James Hackman, after going through Area and Area Finalist rounds, District and then a Regional Cluster round became the Southern representative for this year’s event.

Throughout the competition, judges have given James several accolades for his stunning dishes from his venison steaks with fondant potato, vegetables and garnish right through to his final dishes which were:

Main: Duo of wild rabbit, seared loin and leg, black pudding boudin, celeriac fondant, wilted spinach, baby carrots, wild garlic pesto and rabbit jus.

Dessert: Dark chocolate Cointreau and amaretti torte with honeycomb, salted caramel tuile, scented with Seville orange.

Students had two hours to create and plate their dishes with four judges watching everything they did.

The judges said all the dishes were to an extremely high standard with lots of innovation and creative thinking being displayed – and they were very impressed with the level of hygiene used and the logical order that dishes were made in.

After a long deliberation, James came away from the competition as a Finalist and Best in the South. He has been rewarded with trophies at each round as well as receiving the Rotary Young Chef of the Year Southern Shield.

Alison Mason, CFS Governor stated “As a governor of CFS I was enormously proud to accompany Miss Pye, James Hackman, (Year 11) and his family to the National Finals of Rotary Club Young Chef of the Year, in Alcester just outside Birmingham on Saturday.

James had competed in five rounds, in order to reach the finals, beating some very talented chefs along the way. The competition was fierce with all regions of Great Britain and Northern Ireland represented. James was placed in the top six young chefs in the country, from a starting field of more than 6500 entries.

The senior judge sought James out after the competition to comment on his talent and creativity. A very proud moment for James, his family and Miss Pye who has mentored him through each stage of the competition.: "What a fantastic outcome and a great ambassador for our school. Well done James.”

Tanya Pye, Food Preparation and Nutrition Teacher at CFS, said: “James was extremely calm throughout the rounds and did so well with the pressure of the event. To get through to the National Finals is a huge achievement and the amount of time and dedication he put into his dishes was outstanding.

“He has been working so hard throughout this year to get to where he is now and the hard work has certainly paid off. The judges gave such delightful feedback about James, one stating they would happily have him in his kitchen and another saying they could easily see their dishes in a Michelin star restaurant.

"I am as proud as a teacher can be for James and the hard work, dedication and spirit he has put in and hope he celebrates this amazing achievement with his friends and family who have supported him every step of the way. A huge well done to James. I hope one day to see him on Masterchef.”