After honing their skills in Cookery Club all term, the Tuesday and Friday groups crossed whisks for an epic bake off to crown the Shiplake baking champions. Mr Davies, Miss Knight and Mr Brown formed a formidable judging panel to test the budding chefs’ culinary offerings. After a tense battle in the Great Hall, there was a split decision with the Headmaster overruled to award Mrs Parrott’s team the coveted title.
Mrs Parrott’s quintet Robbie Rayne, Anton Renouf, Darius Braun, Tom Ibbitson and Matt Aldridge prepared their dishes in the Burr House kitchen. The main course options consisted of chicken and vegetable fajitas, served with chunky salsa and sour cream. For pudding, they served up gooey chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream quenelles. The menu was devised after weeks of trialling different dishes. The team received most positive feedback for the fajitas and so opted again for the spicy Mexican classic.
Music teacher Mr Ham’s team set up camp in Welsh House kitchen and provided stern opposition. They opted for Asian style cuisine with sweet and sour chicken and a vegetarian equivalent. The tasty stirfry was served around a rice tower, although the perfect moulded sphere had subsided slightly en route to the Great Hall. The judges took this into account and the group still received great credit for inventive presentation. The pineapple chunks were a particularly popular addition amongst the panel.
Dessert consisted of Ross Johnstone’s South African take on a flapjack, with extra crunch and extra sugar. The dish was perhaps let down a little by its presentation, with the stacked formation lacking a little bit of creative flair.
The judges awarded marks for each menu based on presentation, flavour and overall enjoyment. The Headmaster felt Mr Ham’s team’s sweet and sour flavour combination was enough to be crowned kings of the kitchen, but baking expert Miss Knight opted for Mrs Parrott’s team based on the delicious chocolate brownies. This left the deciding vote to Assistant Head Mr Brown, who after careful deliberation sided with Miss Knight and presented Mrs Parrott’s team with a whisky trophy and individual wooden spoons.
Mr Brown commented: “Cookery is officially the most popular club with a waiting list as long as your arm! I was pleased to see such enthusiasm from the pupils and wish to thank Mrs Parrott and Mr Ham for inspiring their chefs this term.”
