Challenge HomeYour invitation to be a Young Cook
Young people are annually invited to take part in the south east’s Young Cooks cookery competition with the winners receiving a share of £500!
The idea is to encourage all young people to roll up their sleeves, get stuck in and discover how much fun cooking can be – while learning vital life skills along the way!
The Young Cooks judges love to see local produce being used, so thought should be given to this. Finalists will be chosen by our judges based on your entry and the details of the final event will be confirmed to you.
Any child or young person aged 7 – 21 may enter Young Cooks during the nomination window within the following categories:
Primary
7-11 years
To enter the Primary category you need to prepare two dishes, a homemade lasagne & cupcakes of your choice. The recipes should be what you think is delicious, healthy and showcase your cooking skills. You will need to include a photo of both the dish and the child holding the dish, ingredients, method and cost. The meal should cost no more than £10.
Next we will ask you to write about a family recipe of your choice, please include the method and preparation of this meal and it should also be within the budget of £10 to feed a family of 4.
If you are invited to the final you will be provided with ingredients and asked to cook one of your entry dishes. Added to this, you’ll also do a fun skills test, which involves following a recipe to make a very simple dish.
Secondary
11-16 years
To enter the Secondary Category you need to prepare two dishes, a homemade pizza (including the dough) and a vegetable based cake or dessert. You will need to include a photo of both the dish and the child holding the dish, ingredients, method and cost. The meal should cost no more than £10.
Next we will ask you to write about a family recipe of your choice, please include the method and preparation of this meal and it should also be within the budget of £10 to feed a family of 4.
If you are invited to the final you will be provided with ingredients and asked to cook one of your entry dishes. Added to this, you’ll also do a fun skills test, which involves following a recipe to make a very simple dish.
Further Education
16-21 years
To enter the Further Education category you will need to prepare two dishes completely of your choice. This can be a starter and main or main and dessert. You will need to include a photo of both the dish and you holding the dish, your ingredients, method and cost – sticking to a budget of £10.
These will be the dishes you would be asked to cook if you were invited to the final.
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Young Cooks provides a wonderful opportunity for young people and families to get creative in the kitchen and show off their cooking creations to the world.
I love that every dish entered becomes an online recipe page and that there is a live cook-off staged for finalists to prepare their food for a panel of judges.
I would like to congratulate you and your team for organising another outstanding Young Cooks competition.
Enabling children and youngsters to create wholesome, healthy, locally sourced recipes to a fixed budget supports our curriculum plus improving the health and wellbeing of our nation.
Prior to our entries, students had been developing their signature dishes for weeks. They tweaked recipes to ensure nutritional content met healthy eating guidelines and ensured students have learnt new skills on the way.
I am delighted to support Young Cooks. This competition is a fantastic opportunity for children to get creative in the kitchen.
It is good to see a charity on my own doorstep encouraging young people to get cooking. It is also a great way to get them to think about healthy eating and sourcing local produce.
Kent Cooks is staged as a fundraising event to support the educational services delivered by the KM Charity Team in Kent schools. No charge is made to submit a nomination, but funds raised through corporate sponsorship are used to support our work.
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