Brakes Scotland has announced the finalists for the company’s Scottish Student Chef Challenge. Candidates from Scottish colleges will battle it out in front of a panel of judges at the City of Glasgow College next month.

Having submitted a menu, methodology and costed list of ingredients, the six teams – from South Lanarkshire College, City of Glasgow College, Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and Fife College – will now meet in the live cook-off final.

Led by CIS Excellence Awards Board member Kevin MacGillivray, the judging panel also includes Brakes Scotland’s development chef, Derek Lockett, and CIS Excellence Awards board chair, Neil Thomson.

In addition to innovative ideas, the judges were looking for provenance, a balance of textures and flavours and the ability to accurately cost a menu.

Derek Lockett said: ‘The standard of the students this year has been great and it’s encouraging to see that the industry has some fantastic talent coming through.’

Requiring the teams to produce a three-course signature menu in 1 hour 45 minutes, the live final will see the three-person teams of full-time catering and hospitality students cooking the menus they produced for the initial paper judging phase.

The overall winner will receive a trip to Gran Rapids to represent Scotland, a three-day work experience at Gleneagles, a year’s membership to the Federation of Chefs Scotland, an embroidered chefs jacket, framed certificates and a winner’s plaque.

Visit www.brake.co.uk/chefchallenge or follow @Brakes_Scotland for more information.

www.cis-excellenceawards.com