ACTIVITIES
MASTERCHEF
C
horizo, red onion and red pepper... three specified ingredients…and sixty minutes. Ali Moran (U6), this year’s winner of the school’s annual cookery competition for the third year running, tells Emma Hawcroft (U6) of his success and his ambitions for the future. ‘The week before the competition, I put my school work aside and focused on my priorities: ready to rustle up the winning master-piece! I had been waiting all year for this event to come round, and now it was time. Preparation began by leafing through cookery books and scouring the internet for the perfect recipe. At my local restaurant, ‘Graze on the Green’ in Rosedale, where I work, I quizzed the chefs for tips and advice on a suitable dish, allowing me to be a little more experimental with my presentation (as I have learnt from recent years that this is the key!). Given that this was my third year taking part, the pressure really was on to try and prove myself once more. The day before the big event, I sent my Dad to buy the ingredients; little did he know he would be £30 out of pocket! A practice run the day before enabled me to perfect my recipe, knowing full well that the competition would be tough. My fellow competitors this year were Annabel Cawood, Will Mason, Barnaby Platt, Charles Jude, Aimee Long and Harriet Slater, and joining us were three teachers: Mr Donaldson, Miss McNelly and Mrs Wilson. Between us, we conjured up a range of dishes, from risotto to seafood paella.
The day arrived. Weighed down by my ingredients plus the three compulsory ones, I set to work. My two dishes were a chorizo and red pepper pizza and a second plate of a tomato and mozzarella stack, a chorizo and prawn kebab and hasselback potatoes with cayenne pepper to add a fiery taste! After much deliberation, the judges, Mr Ronan, Mr Houltham and Neil Bartram (the manager of Pocklington Sainsbury’s), surprised me by choosing me as the winner! My interest in cooking, helped by my part time job and work experience at the Michelin-starred Harome’s The Star Inn, has inspired me to study a degree in Culinary Arts at university. I admire Andrew Pern, the owner of The Star Inn: he is local and has had so much success. My ambition, one day, is to be a successful retailer with an empire of farm shops, delis, pubs and restaurants!’
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THE POCKLINGTONIAN