Craft Guild of Chefs’ Director of Operations Andrew Green is urging catering colleges and students to enter the 2017 Country Range Student Chef Challenge after the deadline for entries was extended to Monday 5th December.

The prestigious competition is in its 23rd year and has become the pinnacle for full-time hospitality and catering college students looking to showcase their culinary prowess and creativity in team situation, while developing “real life” catering skills and experience under intense pressure situations.

Andrew Green commented:

“With several colleges getting in touch and asking for more time, we decided to ease the pressure and put the deadline for the 2017 Challenge back until the 5th December to give absolutely everyone the opportunity to be involved.  We understand it’s a busy time for catering departments but it’s shaping up to be a fantastic challenge so we have extended the deadline to enable a few more teams to take part.”

The challenge sees teams of three students tasked with creating, preparing and cooking a three-course, three-cover menu around the theme ‘Healthy Gourmet Fine Dining’.   The menu must include:

  • A vegetarian starter containing at least one super grain, such as amaranth, chia seeds, freekeh or quinoa
  • A main course that can contain meat or fish but must be centred around imaginative healthy cooking techniques
  • A dessert that should contain fruit where possible and refrain from containing too much butter and cream.

Applications, Timings and Deadlines
Chef lecturers are encouraged to email all entries to emma@countryrange.co.uk as soon as possible.  Each team will be required to submit a completed entry form, which includes details of their three-course, three-cover menu, the ingredients and methodology used for each course and the associated costs of each element, which must total a maximum of £8 per cover.  Deadline for registrations now closes on the 5th December.

The menus will then be judged with the winning teams selected to compete in regional heats at the end of January 2017 before the successful teams make it through to the live final which will take place on the 15th March in the Live Theatre of ScotHot – Scotland’s biggest food, drink and hospitality show.  ScotHot runs from the 15-16th March at the SECC Glasgow and is also home to the 31st Scottish Culinary Championships.

In addition to taking home the much-coveted title, the victorious team will also win the unique opportunity to work with the Guild’s culinary team in catering for over a thousand guests at the Craft Guild of Chefs Annual Awards 2017.

then winning bronze is truly amazing and something I will cherish forever. It would never have happened without the girl’s success in the Student Chef Challenge and their hard work so the medal is as much for them as me.”

Do you already have an entry form? Send it completed with details of your three-course, three-cover menu, the ingredients and methodology used for each course and the associated costs of each element as soon as possible to emma@countryrange.co.uk. Need an entry form? Request one from Emma or visit www.countryrangestudentchef.co.uk as soon as possible to request one