Y12 Hospitality students making canapes for the BTEC exhibition
Well done to all the Y12 BTEC Hospitality students who made amazing canapes to end their European food module. These were served at the BTEC exhibition last week and the guests were asked to give feedback, which showed the ork and mustard fritters and the min fruit pavlovas to be the most popular.
Cooking Panaeng curry with Chef Ris
This week students had the opportunity to cook with Chef Ris. They were shown the right technique for preparing the curry paste with a mortar and pestle. They then prepared their own curry dish which they presented for a taste test. Chef Ris was full of praise for all the young cooks but in the end crowned Mervy and Aditya, as “cooks of the week” for the most authentic taste. Congratulations to both boys.
Island School ESF Chef Semi Final
In the Semi Final of ESF Chef at Island school, held yesterday, competitors were given the brief of Fabulous fruit in 1 hour, giving them lots of scope for creativity and amazing presentation. Both the Juniors (working in pairs) and the Seniors were cooing alongside each other this time and atmosphere was tense as the second ticked away and the students worked on their creations. The judges were really treated with this round, as the dessert produced were superb, however their can only be one winner from each section and they were; In Junior, Rachael and Nicole in (W with their Strawberries 5 ways and in senior. Charlotte Wong for her Berry Trifle pop rock surprise.
Also joining these students in the Island school final next month is Bridgette and Krisha from 8R and Anya and Jordyn from 9D. In the Senior joining Charlotte is Ethan from 12R and Heather from 12W. the winner of the Island School final will be competition, held at West island school on 26th May. Also a big well done to all the competitors who did not make it to the final, but produced some excellent food and worked really hard in preparing and practicing for the last two rounds
Food lovers guide to culture: Eastern European cooking
Today’s lesson introduced students to the food cultures of Eastern Europe. Students worked in teams to prepare one dish from a given county. The best dish was prepared by Chiara, Avantika, Athena and Ottavia, who made Romanian meatballs with mash.
Dawn of a new age – introducing the App Design Gamalan Orchestra
In a moment of inspired silliness the app design students made a simple, fun app that turned their mobile phones into bells. Accordingly an impromptu Campanological performance was done, the results of which are here for your amusement.
On a developmental note we may take this idea a little further and aim for an actual piece of recognisable music next time.
ESF Chef – Round 1
Just before we broke up for CNY, the food rooms are buzzing with excitement as the first round of the newly named ESF Chef took place.
The Juniors work together in pairs formed with in their houses from Y7-9, with each house selecting 2 pairs were given the brief to make a funky vegetarian dish in 45 minutes. This gave great scope for creativity and some superb dishes were produced, including a tofu 4 ways, quesadilla, bean burger, and pasta dishes
However the winners for the first round were Yash and Alessandro (9W) (Last years ESF Junior overall winners, who make a curried tofu filo parcel
Also going through to the next round in 2nd place is Rachel & Nicole (9W), in 3rd place Bridgette & Krisha (8R), in joint 4th place Jordyn & and Anya (D)/Natalie and Tricia (7F) and in the final spot top sneak through was Alina & Leone (8E)
The seniors were up next working individually, with the the simple brief of the perfect risotto in 45minsnt there was no room for mistakes and Charlotte in 10W ran awaty with teh win, as she not only made the best risotto, but it was also garnished with Parmesan crisps.
It was then close for the next 5 places in the next round, but well done to Dan (12F) who got 2nd place, Kelly (12E) nad Erika (12F) who got joint 3rd, Ethan (12R) in 5th and Heather in 12W in 6th
The next rounbd is on 15th March and students now have an hour to impress with a fruity dish
y11 GCSE Food – Ready, Steady and Cook Challenge for poverty Week
In Hong Kong, roughly 1 million people live below the poverty line – this means they live on below HK$120 everyday. This makes it extremely difficult to pay for basic necessities, such as shelter, food, clean water and transport. As a result, ISSJ’s poverty subgroup decided that, as part of raising awareness during Island School’s first ever Poverty Week, it would be appropriate to hold a ‘below the poverty line’ cooking competition for Y11 GCSE students.
In pairs, the students were randomly assigned a different cheap canned item; these included of corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, lentils, baked beans, chickpeas, coconut milk, tuna, stewed pork or beetroot. They also had access to a limited variety of other cheap ingredients, such as rice and vegetables. Their task was, as in any cooking competition, to create the best dish – but in this case, ‘best’ referred not only to creativity, presentation and taste, but also nutrition. On a very tight budget, it is vital that meals are satisfying and provide you with all the nutrients that you need.
It was an intense competition: the students had only half an hour to cook, and with only a few minutes of brainstorming. Nonetheless, every pair exhibited creativity, skill and diligence. Every dish was delicious and nutritious – but most importantly, cheap. The feedback was also very positive. The students said that although it was difficult to cook with such a limited pantry while considering things like price and nutrition, they learnt more about budgeting and developed more appreciation for what they had.
Since all the dishes were so innovative and tasty, it was difficult for the judges to decide on a winner. However, Chiara Dadamo (11W) and Jennifer Frawley (11F) were ultimately victorious with their vegetarian Thai red curry, which they had made with canned coconut milk. Congratulations!
Photos and article by Julia Mulrooney
IB Food students CNY meal
Today the tables were turned on Mr Lord as he was given a lesson in traditional Chinese New year Food, culture and etiquette. The reasons for serving each dish were discussed, as well as some fun poking at Mr Lord’s chopstick ability. I love the turnip cake the best with the steamed fish!
Lord’s Kitchen HE Fair Buffet
The Lord’s Kitchen course culminated in them putting their skills and knowledge together to plan and prepare a finger food buffet for the visitors from all the Universities that were at Island school for the Higher Education Fair,
The was a vast selection on offer, including Mini Salmon Wellingtons, Vegetable Samosas, Chilli Beef Burritos, Falafel Wraps and Chocolate Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce. The students collaborated excellently all day and were very professional in the service, getting a lot of praise from all the visitors. Well done to all of themand I hope see them on the food courses in the future.
Lord’s Kitchen Skills videos
One of the last projects in the Lord’s Kitchen Elements class is to make and edit a “Tasty” style skill video.
Here a few of the the students video’s.
Which will you try?
