Silver lining for young chefs in their culinary world cup
A Shrewsbury-based chef and his team have taken a silver prize in a Culinary World Cup competition.
The talented young chefs who make up the Junior Culinary Team Wales are taking part in the culinary event in Luxembourg.
Calum Smith, the pastry chef at Shrewsbury School, is the captain of the team that took the silver medal in the Restaurant of Nations element to the competition.
The talented young chefs added the silver medal in the Restaurant of Nations hot kitchen to a bronze medal awarded in the Table of Fire element of the competition on Sunday.
The team, comprising young chefs from across Wales and the border, competed against 14 other teams from around the world at the high profile culinary event.
Silver success followed a bronze in the Table of Fire section where the team had to prepare four different kinds of cold and hot finger food, a cold, festive fish or seafood platter and hot main courses and dessert for 12 people.
Calum praised the hard work by everybody involved with the team.
“Overall, we are delighted to win silver and bronze medals, which is a massive achievement for our inexperienced team and for Wales,” he said.
“It was my second competition as captain and the knowledge I have gained has put the fire in my belly to get what we all want - a gold medal at the Culinary Olympics in 2024.”
Other team members are Harry Paynter-Roberts and Sion Hughes from Carden Park Hotel, Stephanie Belcher of Coast, Saundersfoot, Harry Osborne, from Quay Hotel and Spa, Deganwy and Jay Rees, who is studying for a degree at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai with Amira Milner from Signatures Restaurant, Conwy, Heather Spence, Links Hotel, Llandudno and Pippa Taylor, who is completing a Culinary Arts Degree at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai campus in Rhos-on-Sea supporting.
Coach Danny Burke said: “We are all delighted with the silver medal in the hot kitchen. When you consider the inexperience in the team - some chefs were competing at this level for the first time – and the fact that they were competing against the best in the world, I think they have exceeded expectations."
