Two south London school pupils win Sodexo competition judged by celebrity chef

Two south London school pupils recently won a cookery competition that was mentored and judged by celebrity chef Paul Rankin.

Organised by Sodexo, the competition aimed to encourage healthy eating and inspire young people to cook.

Six pupils from the Harris Federation of South London Schools took part in the competition, held at the South Norwood Academy kitchen, where they had to compete against each other by creating a two-course healthy meal. The pupils had just 45 minutes to prepare and cook their dishes, whilst Rankin gave them advice and top cooking tips as they competed.

The judges found it impossible to choose just one winner as George Whitelock, 16, from Harris Academy Falconwood, wowed them with his Italian lemon chicken and pumpkin risotto and for dessert his mango soup with pear and passionfruit.  He said: "My menu was taken from my aunt and I adapted it to my own style. The best part of today was meeting Paul, he said he might even offer me a job in the future."

Joint winner, Aminata Futu Kanda, 15, from Harris Academy Dulwich, impressed the judges with her pumpkin and coriander soup to start and a main course of salmon with watercress sauce, served with sautéed mushrooms. She explained: "I'm very shocked and excited to win, I wanted to do something different using ingredients that are in season."

Rankin added: "I was very impressed by the terrific standards of all of the pupils. It was the stylistic differences that really set the winners apart from the rest. George's dishes were wacky and creative whilst Aminata's recipes were wholesome and perfectly blended. It's great to see kids making a connection between raw produce and the end product. They warmed our hearts with their outstanding passion for cooking."

Colm O'Mahony, Sodexo divisional director for commercial education, Dr Dan Moynihan, chief executive of the Harris Federation and Mike Antoniou, finance director at the Harris Federation joined Paul on the judging panel.

Words: Maria Bracken

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