University College Birmingham students, staff and alumni have put England in the top 12 of national junior teams out of 197 countries after clinching silver and bronze medals in one of the toughest culinary contests in the world.

The National England Junior Team, made up of talented chefs from the University's celebrated College of Food, went head-to-head with rivals representing 14 other nations – including Australia, Canada, Mexico and countries across Europe – at this year’s Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

The crew first won bronze in the Table of Fire element of the competition, which is part of the five-day Expogast international gastronomy trade fair.

They then wowed the judging panel to take silver in the Restaurant of Nations hot kitchen, cooking for 70 covers.

It means the England youth team have jumped from 17th to 12th in the world ranking of junior culinary teams.

Managed by College of Food chef lecturers Mathew Shropshall and Richard Taylor and coached by Culinary Arts Management BA (Hons) graduate Jack Gameson, the team featured six more current and former University College Birmingham students.

Among them were team captain Elliot Lawn and vice-captains Rebecca Bourne and Angelina Adamo, all of whom studied Professional Cookery Level 3, while Elliot and Rebecca also progressed to study Professional Chef FdA and Hospitality Business Management BA (Hons) respectively.

Joining them in Luxembourg was former Professional Chef FdA student Jude Andrews alongside current students Alahgi Jadama (Culinary Arts Management BA (Hons)) and Luke Jeffs (Food and Nutrition BSc (Hons)), as well as fellow team member Jamie Macdonald.

Mathew Shropshall said he was extremely proud of the junior team, whose journey began two years ago, with preparations for the contest having started in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

"As manager, I am extremely proud of the team and I look forward to developing the team further over the forthcoming years,” he said.

“With support from the British Culinary Federation (BCF), we are committed to maintaining and training a team of young chefs who can continue to compete, both nationally and internationally, at these prestigious events."

The Culinary World Cup is held every four years and is known to be the second largest culinary competition in the world.

This year, the senior England team won a silver medal for their Edible Buffet and achieved gold after serving 110 covers for the Restaurant of the Nations task, beating 29 other countries in the process.

Peter Griffiths MBE, President of the BCF, which sponsors the team, said: “Both senior and junior teams performed exceptionally well in Luxembourg. It is very rewarding to see the results of all their hard work and commitment come to fruition.

“With both our teams being drawn to compete on the same days, it was testing for their organisational skills and working conditions, not ideal and something we have never experienced before.

“The teams are a credit to the BCF, themselves and their country. I am delighted for all concerned.”

Several of the current crew of chefs were also part of the England team which scooped a silver medal two years ago at the 2020 IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany.

University College Birmingham's acclaimed College of Food is a leading provider of specialist training for the food and hospitality industries, with students learning in our award-winning training restaurant as well as having a wealth of opportunities to put their skills to the test in prestigious national and international competitions.

Discover our full range of courses here.