Students across Britain are being encouraged to enter the Craft Guild of Chefs’ newly re-branded cookery competition, the British Student Culinary Championships, one of the UK’s largest live culinary competitions and the perfect platform for student chefs to gain their first taste of competitive cooking.
Andrew Green, Guild of Chefs’ chief executive, said, “The British Student Culinary Championships is the largest student-based catering competition in the country and has grown in stature and prominence in the past 22 years that it has been running.
'As a result, we now attract sponsors who want to align their brands with the competition, introduce new products to students, and demonstrate to a new cohort of chefs their commitment to support the future stars of our industry.”
The competition will still have the same excellent classes of both live and static competitions. It is divided into five different categories: live hot, live cold, restaurant, cold static and bakery. Each competition has its own judging criteria and is marked independently by judges.
New for this year is The Breakfast Challenge, sponsored by League of Club Chefs. Competitors will have to create their own take on traditional ‘eggs and bacon’, to produce a dish that can be served as part of a Champagne brunch.
Also new this year is War on Waste. This will see chefs compete to create two plates of a main course, suitable for casual dining, using pre-cooked leftovers of rice and chicken and six mystery ingredients. These new categories have been designed to encourage chefs to be innovative.
Worshipful Company of Cooks is sponsoring the Canapé competition for a second year. This popular competition really challenges students who have to create a canapé menu and service it to invited VIP guests.
The Worshipful Company of Innholders is sponsoring the Cook and Serve competition. This category demonstrates the importance of a kitchen team working well with its front of house team.
Essential Cuisine is sponsoring the ‘plant-based’ class. Students will be challenged to devise and prepare two different plant-based dishes using Essential Cuisine’s new range of vegan stocks.
Aviagen Turkeys and Avara Foods are sponsoring the British Turkey and British Duck Student Competition. This exciting inclusion into the competition programme is designed to highlight the versatility of British turkey and duck.
The best starter and best main dish produced will be served at the 2020 British Poultry Awards which will take place 1st October 2020 at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane.
The BBQ Cook Off is being sponsored by Major International. This year competitors will be able to embrace flavours from around the world by incorporating one product from Major International’s Mari Base range into their main dish and one in a side option.
The deadline for entry is 1 May 2020. A separate entry form must be completed by each competitor and sent to the Craft Guild of Chefs.
This year’s will be held at Central Bedfordshire College, Kingsway Campus, Dunstable, Bedfordshire on 27 and 28 May 2020.