June 2023

Food, glorious food!

By Darren Campbell, Melanie Hall and Killoran Wills

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Read time: approx 12 mins

From brilliant bakers to super seafood chefs and a patisserie prize-winner, food students from University College Birmingham have been enjoying a feast of competitive successes and memorable experiences this year.

Learners past and present from the University’s acclaimed Birmingham College of Food have been making their mark at a wide variety of industry competitions and events so far in 2023, including prestigious contests such as the British Culinary Federation (BCF) Chef of the Year, Zest Quest Asia and the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or.

Here’s our roundup of what our students have been up to over the last few months:

Petra being presented with her award

Pastry perfection from Petra

A bakery student from University College Birmingham is off to Italy after winning a national patisserie contest.

Third year Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) student Petra Vukovic saw off seven rivals to clinch the title of Young Pastry Chef of the Year last month.

Held at The Sheffield College, the final saw Petra and the other contestants tasked with preparing and presenting a range of dishes within a four-hour timescale, having been required to supply all their own ingredients, equipment and presentation plates.

In addition to the top gong, Petra – who works at Birmingham’s Michelin-starred Adams Restaurant – also received the award for Best Use of Puff Pastry at the competition.

And as part of her prize, she will be heading to Italy on a four-day education visit to the renowned Pica Pastry School in Milan, where she will receive two days of classes with Pastry World Cup champion Massimo Pica.

Judges for the competition included chair Mick Burke, Thomas Leatherbarrow, Stuart McLeod, Barry Johnson and Vicky Enderson, as well as Matt Owens, chair of the Craft Guild of Chefs.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to be part of this competition,” said Matt. “The Craft Guild of Chefs are all for encouraging the chefs of tomorrow, to ensure opportunities are there for many a year.

“The talent that has made it through today is simply exceptional. Each and every chef has been a credit to themselves and our industry.”

Jorja, Methus and Claudiu receiving their awards

French foodie trip for Zest Quest team

The spice was right for a trio from University College Birmingham after finishing overall runners-up at this year’s Zest Quest Asia competition.

Professional Chef FdA students Jorja White, Methus Sawangseang and Claudiu Zlate Florian also won the Best Team accolade at the prestigious annual contest, which sees full-time student chefs demonstrate their skills and knowledge for Asian cuisine.

Mentored by chef lecturer Tony Perry, the trio were treated to a French culinary adventure as a reward for their efforts.

The results of the live cook-off and knowledge presentations were announced at a gala dinner and awards night held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre London Heathrow in February, welcoming 250 guests including influential representatives from colleges, industry and the media.

Cyrus Todiwala, co-founder of Zest Quest Asia, said: “After 10 years, Zest Quest Asia continues to fire the creativity and imaginations of young student chefs.

“People are taking Asian cuisine seriously as an art form, and the performance and dedication of our finalists proves that Zest Quest Asia is making a positive difference in the perception of Asian food.”

Lewis Walker, Deputy Head of Birmingham College of Food, said: “Huge congratulations to the students. It is an incredible achievement and a fitting testament to all their hard work – we are really proud of them.”

It is not the first time our students have enjoyed success in the competition. Three students from the University were crowned champions in 2020, while Killoran Wills was runner-up in 2021.

Bakers bag honours at ABST contest

Imaginative bakery students raised their game to claim an array of accolades from a top baking competition hosted by University College Birmingham.

A group of 16 students from the University did battle with others from around the country for honours across three disciplines at this year’s Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) Innovation Competition, held at Summer Row in February.

On home ground, Professional Cookery Level 3 student Ellise Bailey was “very highly commended” by judges in the Innovation category sponsored by Guenthers Ltd, baking a sweet brioche bun with passionfruit curd and then a roasted garlic, herb and lemon zest burger bun.

In the Laminated Pastry Innovation section promoted by Rondo, fellow Level 3 student Fraja Hartley took second place with a honey roasted flaky Danish swirl with pistachios and raspberry, while Level 2 student Fardeen Hayat claimed third place with Danish turnovers featuring a cream cheese and raspberry filling.

The task of producing six identical ganache chocolates suitable for a retail shop – such as Birmingham sponsors The Chocolate Quarter – saw more innovative flavours, but it was Bakery and Patisserie Technology BSc (Hons) student Ella Stewart’s hand-painted floral treat that made it onto the leaderboard in third place.

Fellow final year student Jessica Tennant was also highly commended for her summer bumblebee delicacy inspired by Cornish gin company Tarquin’s, featuring honey gel, honeycomb and blackberry ganache, hand-painted with yellow cocoa butter.

Caroline Dunnell, senior lecturer and Level 3 programme lead, said: “Students took the innovative ideas to the next level with many using a range of flavours and some using potatoes to reduce waste. The judges agreed the standard of products presented was high.”

Louis Richards and Zain Tahir

Seafood specialists scoop third place

Two student chefs from University College Birmingham took third place in a national competition dedicated to seafood.

Professional Chef FdA students Louis Richards and Zain Tahir competed with chefs from eight other colleges around the UK in the final of the National Seafood Chef of the Year competition, held at the Grimsby Institute on 9 June.

The duo, both in their second year, progressed through their heat in Wales last month to reach the final, where they were tasked with creating a three-course menu using specially selected seafood species.

And they secured a top-three finish with their dishes, including a starter of smoked haddock with lemon and parsley crumb, a ‘Dish of the Day’ intermediate course, and a main course of hake with Jersey Royals, peas, broad beans and seaweed butter sauce.

It was a second final appearance at the annual contest for Zain, who went one better than his fourth-place finish in last year’s event.

It also represented more competition success for Louis, who was previously crowned the inaugural BCF Student Chef of the Year in 2022.

University College Birmingham has an impressive record in the National Seafood Chef of the Year competition, with our students winning the contest six times in its history.

Chef trio in BCF battle

Three former University College Birmingham students returned to campus this week to do battle in the final of a national chef contest.

The Summer Row kitchens played host to the climax of this year’s BCF Chef of the Year competition, which saw 14 top chefs from around the country go head-to-head for the prize, including Michelin-starred restaurant head chefs and a MasterChef: The Professionals champion.

Among the contestants were former Professional Cookery Level 3 student Matt Nicholls, Head Chef at Cheal’s Restaurant in Knowle, and ex-hospitality student Ben Taylor, Chef Patron at Le Petit Bois in Moseley.

Matt Nicholls, Ben Taylor and Harvey Perttola competing in the BCF Chef of the Year final

Also competing was Harvey Perttola, Head Chef at L’Ortolan in Reading, who enrolled on the University’s Young Chefs Academy aged 14.

Following an intense final cook-off on 12 June, Harvey and Matt were named in joint-third place by a panel of expert judges which also featured University College Birmingham alumni, including Brad Carter (owner of Michelin-starred Carter’s of Moseley) and 2021 BCF Chef of the Year Leo Kattou (head chef of Laghi’s in Edgbaston).

“The quality of food today was exceptional,” said judge Leo. “The top four finalists were all exceptional but there was some brilliant cooking from everyone involved, and it was amazing to see.”

Jamie Hopkins took second place at the CombiGuru Challenge

‘Incredible’ Italy experience for Jamie

Student chef Jamie Hopkins racked up a mountain of amazing memories after placing second in an exciting challenge for college learners held in Italy.

Jamie not only came very close to winning the UNOX Ovens CombiGuru Challenge in Padua, but got to explore Venice’s canals and the area’s history and culture – complete with lunch at Michelin-starred restaurant Venissa.

The 17-year-old Professional Cookery Level 3 student, from Coleshill, was up against 24 other student chefs from colleges around the UK in the challenge, winning a place in the final after scoring highly in an initial app-based stage.

Tasked with producing a main and dessert with mystery ingredients in the final, Jamie delivered a breast of chicken filled with feta, artichoke pomme anna, aubergine tapenade and red pimento dressing, followed by a carrot, cinnamon and orange muffin with honey yoghurt and roasted peach.

Chef lecturer Glyn Jacklin, who accompanied Jamie to Italy, said: “He was so nervous, but when he knew he had practised with the ingredients that came up – cinnamon and capers – he settled down and got into the swing of it.

“And the life experience he had was incredible. He’d only ever been overseas when he was 10, so this really was something special.”

More on the menu

The successes don’t stop there. Here are some other recent achievements involving our Birmingham College of Food students and staff:

Amber Clay at the Toque d'Or

Sabeya Tikamda at the BCF awards

Bernard Schumacher at the BCF awards

Sabeya Tikamda at the BCF awards

Bernard Schumacher at the BCF awards

Professional Chef FdA student Amber Clay will be hoping for good news later this month after a challenging week competing in the finals of the Nestlé Professional Toque d’Or competition. Having progressed through the heats in May to reach the final, where she was vying with five others in the back of house category, she will now need to wait until the end of June when the winners will be announced at a special awards lunch. Fingers crossed for you, Amber!
‘Exceptional’ Professional Cookery Level 3 student Sabeya Tikamda scooped a top accolade at last month’s BCF annual awards, being named Promising Young Student of the Year at a glittering awards dinner. There was also a prize for Birmingham College of Food chef lecturer Bernard Schumacher, who was presented with the Chef Lecturer/Mentor of the Year Ken Fraser MBE Memorial Award. Read the full story here.
Current and former University College Birmingham students are in the juniors team which will represent England at next year’s IKA Culinary Olympics in Germany. The team will do battle with 19 other nations at the event, being held in Stuttgart in February 2024.

University College Birmingham is a leading provider of specialist training for the food and hospitality industries, with students learning in our award-winning training restaurant and industry-standard kitchen facilities, 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 within our Birmingham College of Food.

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