City of Glasgow College wins Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge

City of Glasgow College has been crowned winner of the Brakes Student Chef Team Challenge competition 2012/13.

The competition challenged teams, consisting of three full-time catering and hospitality college students, to create a three-course menu inspired by the theme "Going Global with World Cuisine" in just one hour and 45 minutes.

The challenge, run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs, began back in September 2012 with a record number of 85 team entries from 61 different colleges. Forty-six shortlisted teams were invited to compete in a live cook-off at one of six regional heats, with the winner of each heat, along with the overall best runner-up, attending the live grand final held as part of ScotHot 2013.

The winning City of Glasgow College team, comprising Vanessa Daley, Michael Sheddon and Neil Rowan, prepared a menu of a starter of scallop and crab cake, with crispy prawns, cucumber pickle, lime and coriander dressing and Oriental sauce followed by a main course of seared fillet of pork with confit pigs' cheeks, rakti sausage, smoked Auvergne and green lentil dal, grape chutney, roasted vegetables and a red wine sauce with a dessert of passion fruit soufflé with chocolate and coconut mousse and a mango sorbet.

Judge Mark Irish, head of development chefs for Brakes, said: "The standard of cooking throughout this year's challenge has been superb but the City of Glasgow College team really stood out. They took a bold approach to the theme and demonstrated a high level of skill.

"To cook dishes of this standard as part of a live final is a real achievement and Vanessa, Michael and Neil showed genuine talent to deliver such high-quality dishes under intense pressure. We hope the experience will prepare them for glittering careers in the future."

For full details on the Student Chef Team Challenge please visit www.brakesstudentchef.co.uk.

Pictured, left to right: Michael Sheddon, Vanessa Daley and Neil Rowan