Super Chefs Final 2024

Eight star bakers returned to Leighton Park on Monday 22^nd April for the Grand Final of Super Chefs 2024!

The pupils, from four schools across Berkshire, were the winners of the Round 1 heats which saw them competing against their Year 5 classmates to bake and decorate the best cupcakes. There was plenty of competition for technical mastery of the piping bag and creative use of colour and adornments so our returning chefs were rightly proud to have already achieved culinary success!

Pairs of students from St Teresa’s Catholic Academy in Wokingham, Grazeley Primary School, Hemdean House in Caversham and St Piran’s in Maidenhead, were tasked in the Grand Final with a cheesecake recipe with a difference. Instead of offering a prescriptive method, the bakers were given plenty of autonomy in their creation, ensuring that every chef created a truly unique confection. The base of the desserts could be made from biscoffi biscuits, ginger nuts, bourbons or digestives, the cheesecake filling could be lemon, orange, chocolate, coconut or vanilla, and the decorations could involve chocolate in many forms, squirty cream, piping icing, sprinkles, marshmallows, fruit and more!

Our super chefs mixed up some flavoursome concoctions including a Lemon and Coconut cheesecake and a Chocolate and Orange delight with Biscoffi base. One melded three different types of biscuit for the base creating their own taste sensation. Everyone got thoroughly involved with their cooking decisions and the judges found it very difficult to decide on the winner.

With Leighton Park’s Head Chef, Alessandro Albanese, leading the team, the four judges finally settled on Grazeley Primary’s vanilla cheesecake by star baker Henry, supported by team mate Joseph. Henry enjoyed making his base the most and learned how to bake and to whisk for the Final, admitting to having a practice run at the weekend!

Viola from St Teresa’s enthused, “I like coming to Leighton Park because I can accomplish things that I have not done. Through Super Chefs I have learned how to use different techniques on baking.” Classmate Giselle agreed, “You can do really fun and exciting things here. I have learned how to bake a cupcake and cheesecake on my own with a time limit.”

Helen Chalmers, Head of Hemdean House was pleased that her students ‘learnt new skills – there were a lot of different techniques.” Whilst Joe Driver, Grazeley Primary’s teacher, was delighted his pupils head met new people, learnt new skills and had fun! Louise Gray, SENCO at St Teresa’s agreed feeling that her Year 5s had “developed their confidence, resilience and problem solving skills” through the workshop. “They have really enjoyed being part of a competition with other schools and to learn about DT in a secondary school.” Concluded Sharon Grover, Head of DT at St Piran’s.