British Turkey believes the future of its industry lies in the young chefs of tomorrow. For the second year running it is focusing on colleges and student chefs across the country with one sole aim – to start the ball rolling to get more exciting turkey dishes on menus that appeal to young taste buds.

Ten catering colleges up and down the UK have been targeted using its tried and tested ‘MO’ – a short intro by a top turkey producer providing knowledge about the birds, an interactive cookery demo on ways to use the dark and light turkey meat in recipes, and then an invitation to enter its British Turkey Student Chef of the Year.

Westminster Kingsway College was one of the venues where last year’s winners Daniel Lee and Jordan Kerridge hailed from, and here Paul Kelly, managing director of Essex ased Kelly Turkey Farms, which specialises in Bronze turkeys gave a brief insight into his world.

“What we try to do is really rev you up about turkey,” he explains to his audience. “If you go to places in Europe you will see turkey on menus week in week out. It should be the main dish throughout the year.” He adds that the biggest turkey eaters are Americans, particularly Californians.

He says there were two key production times for turkey products – all year round and Christmas production – but UK was competing with cheaper imports, which didn’t help the British cause.

What also doesn’t help is the perception that turkey meat is dry, he adds. “We have to live with the fact that most cooking instructions for birds at Christmas cremate the turkey. That’s why it’s got that dry flaky reputation. Cook it at lower temperatures and you will get a great bird.”

According to the experts, lower temperatures for caterers means cooking between 120ºC-130ºC for a longer period and then giving it a burst of high temperature for around 10 minutes to caramelise it before taking it out of the oven to rest.

Kelly says there are 43 different breeds of turkey, which all stemmed from the Bronze variety. The breed suffered in the ‘50s due to demand for white feathered turkeys that didn’t leave unsightly ‘black stubble’ when plucked, but the Bronze bounced back.

“They are great because they have dark and light meat,” he explains. “Chickens are nearly all light meat because they are killed so young. Turkey is more mature when it’s killed so the meat has a lovely dark colour.

“Whatever you do with beef, lamb and pork, you can do with turkey, and it’s a great substitute for veal; a great flavour carrier too and ticks all the boxes for health.”

For example, he says, it is a good source of protein and has the lowest saturated fat content of any mainstream meat. The cookery demo showed Kerridge and Lee teaming with consultant development chef Tony Robertson to reproduce their winning starter and main course, and demonstrating the flavours and different techniques that helped them win.

Robertson says one of the first things to do with turkey is to remove the wishbone, which makes it easier to carve and enables chefs to get more from the bird – something that is particularly important now the gross profit expected in businesses has risen from 60% to 70%.

He is one of the judges of the paper entries in British Turkey’s competition in which there are two categories that students can enter – a starter course to include turkey thigh meat and a main course using breast meat, which takes just two hours to prepare, cook and serve. The objective is that these dishes can be served on menus at any time of the year excluding traditional roast Christmas turkey. Competitors can also enter both categories if confident enough.

Finalists go forward in a cook off later in the year and winners and runners up from each section will receive Russums vouchers to spend on catering equipment and the opportunity to be centre stage at the annual British Turkey Awards.

The winning dishes will be the focal point of the menu at the awards dinner at a prestigious venue in September, and the students will work with its chefs in cooking the meal for the biggest event in the turkey industry attended by producers, caterers and retailers.

Robertson reminds potential competitors that if they win they will be cooking for more than 200 people. “This won’t be à la carte but banqueting. Turkey has to be cooked fresh on the day and you will have to get the main course out in 20 minutes to around 25 tables.

“When I first started as a head chef we used to cook turkey, lay it on a tray and then reheat it. But if cooked from fresh, it’s really nice and much better than being reheated.

“If you can’t see a way of converting the dish into a banqueting dish, it isn’t worth doing it,” he adds. “The difference with à la carte is that there is no carbohydrate on the plate, which helps us sell sides. In banqueting it has to be a finished dish, with the carbohydrates, which are necessary because it’s cheap and fills you up.”

The aim of the competition is to find inspirational dishes for the younger palate and Robertson says it will be interesting to see different styles of cooking from different regions.

Lorna Cousins, chair of British Turkey’s publicity and marketing committee, says the competition aims to address misconceptions associated with turkey. “It is fantastic meat and can be used in a vast range of ways, and cooked properly it is moist and delicious. The competition gives us the opportunity to engage with chefs, educating them on cooking methods and demonstrating why it is ideal for foodservice.

“Sadly we are lagging well behind European chefs who understand its benefits and include turkey dishes regularly on menus. However, this competition is a start and engaging with the chefs of tomorrow is the way forward in turkey being a regular menu offering.”