Rational is committed to supporting educational initiatives that can provide students with training on its cooking systems to guarantee that they are familiar with the technology that will play a large part in their working life.

The competition was organised by Rational and the Craft Guild of Chefs to introduce catering students to the potential of the latest multifunctional cooking systems and the impact they have on modern kitchens.

The competition was judged by Steve Munkley, vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs; Nick Smith, development chef of The Good Eating Company and winner of the Craft Guild’s National Chef of the Year 2021 and Dirk Ehrlicher, executive sous chef of the Landmark Hotel.

Rational was represented on the judging panel by national corporate chef Ian Leadbetter and regional sales managers Kevin Clark who is also a regular judge for CGC Salon Culinaire.

Munkley said: “Today’s competition showcased the chefs of the future. Every young chef did their college proud, they performed really well under pressure and delivered some exciting dishes, showcasing the talent coming through to the industry.”

The four teams, Glasgow City College, North Hertfordshire College, Bridgend College and Lincoln College went through to the final, held at the development kitchen at Rational’s head office in Luton on 15th February 2022.

Here they had to produce a two-course meal for six guests using Rational’s iVario Pro and iCombi Pro cooking systems, based on ingredients from a mystery box. The mystery box featured a selection of British ingredients, including whole sea bass, duck breast, chicken supreme, forced rhubarb, bramley apples, beetroot, celeriac, kale, white potatoes and leeks. All the teams had to use at least three ingredients within both dishes.

The Lincoln College team was made up of Sam Lowe and Will Argent, accompanied by their lecturer Simon Walker. Their winning menu consisted of roast seabass fillet with pickled Asian salad and Thai broth for the first course, with the second course comprising sous vide chicken breast with potato and leek rosti, caramelised celeriac purée and roast chicken jus.

The winning dishes were prepared with an iVario Pro and iCombi Pro. Sam and Will impressed the judges with their culinary skills from the choice and use of ingredients and how they utilised the full capabilities of Rational’s cooking systems to create them.

Smith added: “It’s been a fantastic day and an absolute joy to judge these superb colleges. It’s been great to see and taste some amazing food and see how this competition adapted around the Rational equipment and what can be achieved.

“I hope today inspires all the competitors to come back and continue competing. Well done to all the competitors, and thank you to Rational and the Craft Guild of Chefs for a cracking day.”