Young chefs win Welsh skills

Chris Owen, 21, from the Castle Hotel, Conwy, and Tom Middleton, 19, from Hotel Maes-y-Neuadd, Talsarnau, Harlech, will now go on to represent their country at the WorldSkills UK heats later this year. It's a second national success for Owen, who last year won the National Junior Chef of Wales contest and is due to fly out to Dubai in May to compete in the World Association of Cooks' Societies' Junior Forum. Whilst Middleton could now be selected for the UK squad for next year's WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada, Owen is just a couple of months too old to be considered. The WorldSkills Competition comes to London in October. Arwyn Watkins, Cambrian Training Company's managing director, commented: "The Hospitality Skills Competition Wales was a great success. We introduced 10 new skill areas, seeking out a variety of skills that reflect the wide range of tasks set in WorldSkills competitions, and there were 331 competitors over the three days." He went on to explain that the Hospitality Skills Competition Wales was designed to encourage as many people as possible in the hospitality sector to enter the competitions with the ultimate goal of delivering an exceptional UK performance at WorldSkills London 2011. The competition was organised by award-winning, Welshpool-based training provider Cambrian Training Company in partnership with VT Training and Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, and funded by the European Convergence Programme. Support was provided by the Welsh Culinary Association, a member of the World Association of Chefs Societies. The competition takes place every two years and attracts over 800 competitors, who are tested against tough international standards over the four-day event.