Moroccan lamb kebabs win through

After an exciting final held at the Christchurch Food & Wine Festival, Shaydel Ramajan from Twynham School was named Christchurch Junior Cook of the Year. 

His winning dish of Moroccan lamb kebabs with spiced couscous was chosen by the judges: festival patron Lesley Waters; Christchurch Rotary president Ian Macdonald and the festival chairman, Tim Lloyd. 

Organised by Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust and sponsored by Christchurch Rotary, the competition culminated in a cook-off between Shaydel and the other finalists, Annabel Sami, Ryan Barker and Amelia Preston in front of an audience.

Lesley Waters said: “The standard of the dishes this year has been absolutely amazing and it was very hard for us to choose a winner. In the end we opted for Shaydel because his dish was innovative, delicious and so healthy.”

All four students, along with runners up from each school, were presented with prizes and the four finalists also received an invitation to spend a day at Lesley Waters’ cookery school in West Dorset. In addition, Shaydel won a meal for four at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel. Each of the secondary schools taking part received a cheque for £250.