Margaret McGreevy and Molly Sweeney, pupils from Scoil Mhuire in Milford, have been awarded the Best Presentation Skills in the 2017 Mount Charles Big School Cook Off in association with the Irish News and Business in the Community.
From over 120 entries to the first stage of the competition, Margaret and Molly cooked a dish of mussels, sourced directly from Mulroy Bay, accompanied by homemade brown bread. They competed against six other schools at James Street South Cookery School in Belfast, only narrowly missing out on the overall winner’s trophy.
Picture: Trevor Annon, Chairman of Mount Charles, Molly Sweeney and Margaret McGreevy, Scoil Mhuire Pupils and Dominic Fitzpatrick Managing Director, Irish News.
The Big School Cook Off was created by Mount Charles, Ireland’s largest locally owned foodservice company, to inspire young people to improve their cookery skills and to better understand how to cook good, healthy meals on a budget.
The team from Scoil Mhuire, Milford was one of 39 teams of pupils from Year 8 – Year 10 from 21 schools across NI and Donegal to compete in regional heats, where all teams were given the same set of ingredients to create a pasta dish of their choice, ready steady cook style.
To reach the regional heat, entrants had to submit their own unique recipe on a budget of £5, using local ingredients where possible. The judges from Mount Charles assessed the entries using a strict set of criteria to determine who would progress in the competition.
The schools that reached the final were Blackwater Integrated College (Downpatrick), Drumglass High School (Dungannon), Scoil Mhuire Milford (Donegal), St Genevieve’s High School (Belfast), St Mary’s College (Derry), St Ronan’s College (Lurgan) and St Patrick’s College Bearnageeha (Belfast) who were given a wildcard pass to the final at the Belfast heat.
Eoghan Roarty, Principal at Scoil Mhuire, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the girls got this far and the experience has been fantastic both for Molly and Margaret and the entire school community.
“I would like to pay special tribute to Elaine Nelis for all the support she gave the girls throughout the entire competition. All the hard work and dedication has certainly paid off!”
Cathal Geoghegan, Managing Director of Mount Charles said: “Massive congratulations to Molly and Margaret on winning the Best Presented Dish and thank you to the team at James Street South Cookery School for allowing us to hold the final in their kitchen.
“I must say that their mussel dish was presented to restaurant standard and the fact that the mussels were locally sourced added another dimension to the dish.
“The atmosphere in the cookery school was absolutely electric, each team put their heart and soul into their dishes and should be very proud of their achievement in reaching the final.
“Our hope is that they all leave the competition with increased confidence and skill where cooking is concerned, a healthy appetite for the wonderful local produce we have here in Northern Ireland, and maybe even a hankering to take it up as a career some day. We are always on the hunt for fresh talent!” he added.
John Brolly, Marketing Manager at the Irish News said: “It was fantastic for the Irish News to be involved in the Big School Cook Off with Mount Charles as the energy and the passion of the young students towards the whole initiative has been amazing to experience.
“I would like to thank all the schools, teachers and students who took part as it was a pleasure to see first hand the high standards that they have set for themselves. Their professionalism was simply outstanding.”
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