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10th August 2008

The Swan launches Cygnet Award

Written by: Admin
The Swan in West Malling is introducing a new competition and award aimed at Kent's children and teenagers countywide.
Students, aged between 11 and 16, must devise a recipe using fresh, local produce and enter it online at www.theswanwestmalling.co.uk before the deadline of 31 October. The creators of the six best recipes entered in the challenge will then be invited to a Live Cook Off in front of a panel of judges and regional radio and TV crews on 22 November, at the Cornwallis Academy in Linton, Maidstone. The requirements of the Cygnet Award 2008 will be to devise and cook a healthy starter, main or dessert using seasonal and regional ingredients. The award for the younger and older age groups will be announced on 8 September. Award-winning head chef Scott Goss at The Swan will head up the team of judges who will be looking for the use of seasonal/local ingredients, healthy ideas, originality and practicality. The best two dishes (in year groups 7-8 and 9-11) will both be presented with a Cygnet Award certificate after the Live Cook Off, as well as a £200 voucher to dine at The Swan. In addition to the winning recipes being featured on the menu at The Swan in West Malling, and the two winners spending a day in the kitchen with head chef Scott Gross, The Award has also won the support of the KM Group, and the winners and their recipes will feature in newspapers, online and on air across Kent. Chef Goss commented on the new challenge: "Jamie Oliver's School Dinners campaign did much to raise the important issue of what our children are eating within schools, but we wanted to go one step further and actively engage young people in the process of devising and creating their own healthy recipe, which they can go on to cook and enjoy with their families at home." The Cygnet Award will go live online from 8 September and all secondary schools across Kent will receive a full competition pack with promotional posters and details of how to enter at the same time.