Chloe hungry for success at cook off

Chloe Kelleher is hoping to have the recipe for success as she carries Irish hopes — and ingredients — into a major international cooking competition this weekend.

Having beaten off the challenge of six other young women and one male chef at the Irish final in Dublin two months ago, the 17-year-old will represent the island at Gloucester College in Cheltenham on Saturday. Thousands of school students aged 11 to 17 have been whittled down to just eight for the final of the Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) Young Chef 2013 event.

“I’m looking forward to it, although I’m a little bit nervous, because it’s away from home. But my home economics teacher has been giving me good tips,” said the fifth-year student at Regina Mundi College in Douglas in Cork.

She has had some helpful external advice too, including hot tips from local restaurateur and Rotary member Dave Halpin of Eco’s in Douglas. She also got to speak with TV celebrity chef Neven Maguire at a recent cookery demonstration in Cork.

“I asked him for some advice afterwards — he suggested doing noodles instead of rice and gave me tips on making my own sugar curls,” she said.

Sandra Lane, Chloe’s home economics teacher, will be there with her parents, Diarmuid and Olga, and younger sister, Sophie, to keep her spirits up.

“She’s really unassuming and I was amazed at what she turned out at our first trial run in school last September. The pork stuffing is really untraditional — it’s stuffed with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, sage and a little red-onion, and it’s an unusual approach to poach the pork steak,” said Ms Lane.

The plan is to bring as much local fresh produce as possible to England on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s two-hour cook-off. While almost half the marks will go on taste and presentation, judges will also be watching hygiene, use of time and keeping the cost below €20 for two people.

The top prizes include a trip to Italy and a day’s tuition with a Michelin-star chef. But whatever the outcome, Chloe is already considering a career based around food, having started from an early age at home in Currabinny.

“I’ve always loved cooking. My mum is a really good cook, and I’ve learned a lot in home economics classes. I don’t know about cheffing, I’d like to get some experience in a working kitchen to see how I get on, but something like food science in college would be interesting,” she said.

Principal Margaret Corcoran and deputy principal Adele Flynn will also travel to the event.

“We’re all immensely proud of her. It’s a huge accolade and we’re delighted one of our students is getting to represent Ireland,” said Ms Corcoran.