Tomato ketchup challenge hits the flavour highs

The competition came into being after Heinz Foodservice joined forces with the Craft Guild, City & Guilds and PACE (Professional Association for Catering Education) to present an exclusive event aimed at full time catering students aged 17-23 in their second year of college or above. Designed to highlight Heinz tomato ketchup as a key ingredient in dishes, the cook off showcased a host of culinary talent, creative menus and the crowning of catering student Yasmin Haywood as the overall winner. The 10 young finalists from colleges across the UK had 90 minutes to prepare, cook and serve a starter and main course using Heinz tomato ketchup, one of which had to be a classic with a twist and the other an original and innovative contemporary dish. Seventeen year old Haywood from New College Nottingham, who also works as a commis chef for local restaurant Tom Brown's Brasserie one day a week, claimed the first prize of £2,000 as well as a chance to compete in a high profile competition with the Craft Guild of Chefs. She will also receive a year's free membership with the Craft Guild. Fredrick Kamau from Thames Valley University, London, and Katie Jordan from Loughborough College were second and third respectively. Haywood was ecstatic and shocked about winning. "I can't believe it," she declared. "I entered the competition because I love to experiment with food and this seemed like a wonderful challenge. I could have done with an extra half an hour to get everything in place, but thankfully it all came together at the end. I didn't think I stood a chance after seeing the other dishes from the other competitors. I'm so happy." Her winning dishes included a trio of tomato dishes – tomato soup, tomato and basil sorbet, and a twist on baked beans – all served with freshly baked tomato bread. Her main course was a twist on a classic fish and chips dish from culinary bible Larousse Gastronomique, which consisted of cod fish cakes that used Heinz tomato ketchup as a binding agent for the recipe, with pea purée and tartare salsa. She said she was looking forward to using her prize money to travel. "I really want to go to New Zealand and now I can. I've always wanted to see and learn about food from different countries and this result will help me make that dream a reality." The panel of distinguished judges – Craft Guild of Chefs CEO Martin Bates, Editor of the Craft Guild's Stockpot magazine Sheila Eggleston, and City & Guild's operational quality consultant, had the difficult task of selecting the cook off champion. Taste, presentation, knife skills and hygiene were just some of the key factors they had to assess during the judging. Martin Bates said: "The presentation and skills on display were of a very good standard and were a testament to the entrants' lecturers. Competitions like this are great experiences for everyone involved and I strongly believe are a great way for students to build confidence. Everyone needs encouragement and all the judges were on hand afterwards to give tips and feedback to all the finalists." Second and third place runners up won £500 and £250 worth of Russums vouchers respectively and a year's membership to the Craft Guild of Chefs. The college that submitted the winning entry also received £1,000 towards training facilities, while the lecturer of the winning student received £100 of Russums vouchers. For further information, visit www.heinzsight.co.uk