Reg Johnson Young Chef Competition tests the culinary skills of pupils at Saint Aidan's High School

By Heather Singleton and Emily Barlow Year 9, Saint Aidan's High School
Pupils at Saint Aidan's High School who took part in the Reg Johnson Young Chef Competition.Pupils at Saint Aidan's High School who took part in the Reg Johnson Young Chef Competition.
Pupils at Saint Aidan's High School who took part in the Reg Johnson Young Chef Competition.

Two wonderful pupils from Saint Aidan’s High School , in Year 9 , recently took part in the Young Chef competition.

The Young Chef competition is a competition in memory of Reg Johnson, the ‘poultry legend’ who put Goosnargh on the map with his corn-fed chicken and Goosnargh duck.

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He sadly died from heart disease. The Reg Johnson Young Chef Schools Competition has been developed to celebrate the enthusiasm that Reg had for encouraging innovation and developing young inspiring talent within the catering industry.

The event consists of three stages, the first is simply writing out your dish.

The second stage is the regional heats, where you cook the meal that you detailed in stage one.

If you get through to the final stage you have to create a two course meal- this year the main for stage three had to include chicken.

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Due to Reg’s famous duck, it was a necessary ingredient in stage two, where Heather and Emily cooked fried duck with roasted sweet potatoes.

They also added fried carrots, kale and green beans.

They placed the kale in the shape of a duck then sliced the duck and placed it on top.

Naturally, they finished with the sweet potatoes in a well-presented pile.

We are so proud of the work and effort our students put into competitions like this - well done girls!

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One of the participants said: “It was an amazing experience and we had so much fun. We will never forget this!”

“Don’t miss this event, you will regret it!”

Reg founded Johnson and Swarbrick in 1985, who are now one of the UK’s Top Producers providing poultry to Hix Restaurants, Northcote and many Michelin starred restaurants.

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