Tipperary ETB hosts first annual TY Young Cooks Competition in Thurles

Competition winners from Borrisokane Community College, Lily O'Neill and Grace Clarke, with their teacher, Ceire Hogan with Fergal Phelan and Colin Cummins

placeholder image — Competition winners from Borrisokane Community College, Lily O'Neill and Grace Clarke, with their teacher, Ceire Hogan with Fergal Phelan and Colin Cummins

Students from seven Tipperary ETB post-primary schools competed in the final in Thurles

Fourteen students from seven Tipperary ETB post-primary schools competed in the first annual TY Young Cooks Competition at Tipperary FET (Further Education and Training) College in Archerstown, Thurles.

Last Thursday’s (30 January) event took place at the professional kitchen facilities at the FET centre in Thurles, which is home to Commis Chef apprentices as well as students from the Home Economics teacher training course at nearby Mary Immaculate College, Thurles.

In recent months, schools were invited to prepare a team of two Transition Year students to take part in this inaugural event, sponsored by Super Valu Food Academy and Tipperary Food Producers. Each team designed a two-course (main and dessert) meal before cooking it over the course of two hours in Thurles.

The dishes were judged by a four-person panel - Stephen Hayes, (Cashel Palace Hotel), Carmel Biggane (Super Valu Food Academy), Helen King (Tipperary Food Producers), and Patrick O’Sullivan (Tipperary FET College).

Every team was praised for cooking a variety of delicious dishes, and for incorporating the surprise ingredient of tender stem broccoli which was only announced to them before the competition got underway.

Tipperary ETB would like to thank all the schools for getting involved, particularly the Home Economics teachers who prepared the students for the day. Each team was presented with a hamper prepared by Tipperary Food Producers and a goodie bag from Tipperary ETB.

The competitors were as follows:

1st place – Borrisokane Community College – Grace Clarke and Lily O’Neill.
2nd place – Scoil Ruáin (Killenaule) – Maximilian Hochgesang and Jondis Cala.
3rd place – Nenagh College – Angela Boldescu and Kayleigh McAuliffe.
Special mention award for incorporation of ethnicity into their dishes - St Ailbe’s School (Tipp Town) – Rae-Dene Buhlebenkosi Ndlovu and Kayla Ncube.
Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed (Thurles) – Lewie Cavanagh and James Woodlock.
Coláiste Phobal Ros Cré – Ciara Crofton and Aoibhe McAndrew.
Comeragh College (Carrick-on-Suir) – Eoin O’Reilly and Ciara Morrissey.