After honing
their skills in Cookery Club all term, the Tuesday and Friday groups crossed
whisks for an epic bake off to crown the Shiplake baking champions. Mr Davies,
Miss Knight and Mr Brown formed a formidable judging panel to test the budding
chefs’ culinary offerings. After a tense battle in the Great Hall, there was a
split decision with the Headmaster overruled to award Mrs Parrott’s team the
coveted title.
Mrs Parrott’s
quintet Robbie Rayne, Anton Renouf, Darius
Braun, Tom Ibbitson and Matt Aldridge prepared their dishes in the Burr House kitchen.
The main course options consisted of chicken and vegetable fajitas, served with
chunky salsa and sour cream. For pudding, they served up gooey chocolate
brownies with vanilla ice cream quenelles. The menu was devised after weeks of
trialling different dishes. The team received most positive feedback for the
fajitas and so opted again for the spicy Mexican classic.
Music teacher
Mr Ham’s team set up camp in Welsh House kitchen and provided stern opposition.
They opted for Asian style cuisine with sweet and sour chicken and a vegetarian
equivalent. The tasty stirfry was served around a rice tower, although the
perfect moulded sphere had subsided slightly en route to the Great Hall. The
judges took this into account and the group still received great credit for
inventive presentation. The pineapple chunks were a particularly popular
addition amongst the panel.
Dessert
consisted of Ross Johnstone’s South African take on a flapjack, with extra
crunch and extra sugar. The dish was perhaps let down a little by its
presentation, with the stacked formation lacking a little bit of creative
flair.
The judges
awarded marks for each menu based on presentation, flavour and overall
enjoyment. The Headmaster felt Mr Ham’s team’s sweet and sour flavour
combination was enough to be crowned kings of the kitchen, but baking expert
Miss Knight opted for Mrs Parrott’s team based on the delicious chocolate
brownies. This left the deciding vote to Assistant Head Mr Brown, who after
careful deliberation sided with Miss Knight and presented Mrs Parrott’s team
with a whisky trophy and individual wooden spoons.
Mr Brown
commented: “Cookery is officially the most popular club with a waiting list as
long as your arm! I was pleased to see such enthusiasm from the pupils and wish
to thank Mrs Parrott and Mr Ham for inspiring their chefs this term.”