Run by equipment company Teflon, the national awards are now in their seventh year and “acknowledge and encourage excellence in the catering industry and in the home.”
With 13 finalists aged 12-16 shortlisted for this year’s final (23 January), Teflon said the competition has grown ten-fold, making it harder and harder to whittle the entries down.
The chosen finalists took to the kitchen at Waitrose Cookery School (London) last week, where they had 1.5 hours to serve two covers of their submitted dish.
Praised for showcasing “a variety of flavours,” Dyer’s winning meal of poached haddock timbale topped with a quail’s egg stole the show, and scooped her a three-year Specialised Chefs Scholarship with the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts at Bournemouth & Poole College as well as the £200 for her school and £100 worth of cookware.
When asked why she would like to win, she said: “I would like to win as it will enhance my growing knowledge of coking in a professional kitchen, which will benefit me as I aspire to study food and nutrition as a degree and hopefully become a nutritionist.
“I mainly chose this recipe because it showcases an oven baked elements, as the timbale and beetroot are baked, which is vital for this competition.”
Demonstrating her knowledge, she added: “This starter celebrates a variety of flavours…and shows a variety of textures.”
All entries were judged by a panel of leading industry experts, including head judge chef Lesley Waters; chef James Golding, The Pig Group; Paul Dayman, B&P College; Jacks McDonnell, Lesley Waters Cookery School; Simon Boyle, Beyond Food Foundation; and James Ganderton, Teflon DSA 2015 winner.