The Guild of Food Writers of which I am a member,each year hold a cookery competition to encourage children to try and learn about real food. The final cook offs are going to be judged by a panel of celebrity chefs with great prizes.
Are you between 8 and 14? Do you love to bake? Then enter this year's national cooking competition!
To enter the Guild of Food Writers CookIt! competition, come up with a two course menu of main course and dessert. This year's competition aims to encourage children to bake and one of the dishes on the menu must be an oven-baked dish, either savoury or sweet, such as a pastry pie, flan or cake. Send in your recipes by Thursday 12 April 2007 for your chance to win fabulous prizes.
Six talented finalists will be chosen from the entrants of this nationwide competition to come to London on Thursday 24 May to prepare their meals in front of the judges in the BBC Good Food Magazine test kitchen.
This year's judges include celebrity chef Marcus Wareing (BBC Two's Great British Menu), cookery writer Sophie Grigson, chef Mark Hix (Executive Chef, Caprice Holdings which includes The Ivy & Daphnes which was Princess Diana's favourite restaurant) and BBC Good Food Magazine's Food Director Sara Buenfeld.
Prizes
First Prize
A two night stay in Paris travelling by Eurostar or flying for the winner and one adult. The perfect chance to enjoy the culinary delights of the city as well as seeing the sights. Courtesy of Airmiles.
Second Prize
An overnight stay at Claridge's, one of London's most famous hotels for the winner and one adult to include dinner, bed and breakfast and a trip around the kitchens.
Third prize
A one day cookery course for the winner at Raymond Blanc's renowned Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire.
Each of the three runners up will receive a selection of bakeware from the Anolon range up to the value of £100.
Expenses are paid for the six finalists and an accompanying adult to attend the final judging in London.
The schools attended by each of the finalists this year will be invited to join the "Chefs Adopt a School" scheme run by the Academy of Culinary Arts. Under the scheme, members of the Academy "adopt a school" and teach primary and secondary school pupils at that school about food, where it comes from, how to taste and how to cook it.
The Guild of Food Writers children's cookery competition is part of a national children's food and cookery education campaign launched by the Guild of Food Writers in 2003.
Below is a link to the website information sheet and application form.
If you know of any schools or children's organisations that would be interested in the competition then please either forward this email to them or email their email details to the Guild of Food Writers? administrator, Jonathan Woods, jonathan@gfw.co.uk.
http://www.gfw.co.uk/campaigns/cookit_main.html
More Big News For Kids
The first ever Children's Food Festival will take place over the weekend of 14 and 15 July 2007 at the Northmoor Trust's conservation farm, 10 miles south of Oxford, within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The aim of the Festival is to transform children?s approach to food. The Festival wants to give children and parents a fresh perspective on healthy eating. The objectives are:
·To inspire children to cook.
·To help children make the links between food and wellbeing.
·To show children how food is produced.
·To encourage children to be curious about food from other cultures.
Raymond Blanc, Sophie Grigson, Antonio Carluccio, Annabel Karmel and Nora Sands, the Dinner Lady from Jamie?s School Dinners, lead a strong line-up of chefs, restaurants and farmers who are taking part. The approach will be creative, fun and hands-on. "Six Field to Fork" marquees will be the heart of the festival: The Meat Tent, The Dairy Tent, The Fruit and Vegetable Tent, The Bread Tent, The Honey Tent and The Smell Tent. There will also be a Kid's Kitchen, a Talks and Tastings Marquee, farm animals, walkabout theatre and a farmers' market of local, organic and fair trade produce.
For more information:
www.childrensfoodfestival.co.uk