Students sweep the board at competition

The students from Shrewsbury Colleges Group London Road campus took part in the Welsh International Culinary Championship and brought home 21 medals.

They travelled to Llandrillo College to compete in the three day annual championships that take place every February. They were among students from 17 colleges and there were 34 individual competitions to take part in, from smoothie making to table laying.

It was the largest team of students that Shrewsbury Colleges Group has ever taken to the championships. The accolades weren’t just for the students, with one of the college teachers coming away with a bronze medal himself. These were all presented at a meal and ceremony at Llandudno Bay Hotel on the last day of the championships.

Ellie Butler, 16, from Bridgnorth, won a gold medal and claimed the Eric Bruce award for best junior. She said: “I competed in a knife skills and street food competition. For the street food round I created a spicy Korean pork dish with rice and courgette noodles. The championships are fun to be involved in. We’re used to cooking in the professional kitchens at college with only our teachers and classmates watching, but here we had a bigger crowd and that was a good confidence builder.”

Daniel Gibbons, head chef lecturer, said: “We are very proud of all our students and everything they achieved at the Welsh International Culinary Championships. They showed focus, dedication and hard-work; all the perfect attributes to succeed in the hospitality and catering industry.

“This competition gives our students some great training and is an excellent opportunity to rub shoulders with other colleges. The whole event gives the students a real confidence boost and we look forward to competing again next year.”