British and French catering schools cook up a storm

The cooking contest, known as the Entente Cordiale Culinaire Competition, will see each of the four participating UK catering schools - Thames Valley University, Westminster Kingsway College, Bournemouth and Poole College, and Thanet College - twinned with a French counterpart. The teams will go head to head at TVU's School of Hospitality and Tourism in Ealing, West London where they will demonstrate their cookery skills in front of a panel of expert judges, including John Williams of The Ritz and Philip Corrick of the RAC Club. Each of the schools has had to select one student to represent them in the contest. The chosen student will work as a pair with their student colleague from across the Channel to produce a two course meal in two hours. Catherine Soriano, a third year chef and Restaurant Diploma, NVQ Level 3 student, will represent TVU's School of Hospitality and Tourism, which celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this month. She will compete with a student from the Lycée Paul Augier in Nice. Soriano commented: "The competition is fast approaching and I am very nervous and excited at the same time as I am not only representing the university but I am also representing my country. I don't know what the result of the competition will be but I already feel like a winner. "This is a very big opportunity for me and I've got my lecturers to thank for it - they have believed in me and so I will try my very best, put my heart into this competition and have fun at the same time. I am looking forward to meeting my team mate from France and I am hoping that we could be friends even after the competition. I would like to share my experiences with her and I am looking forward to learning from her as well."