Islington Arts & Media students cook against the clock
Students at Islington Arts & Media School put their culinary skills to the
test in a live cookery competition – On Your Marks, Get Set … Cook! –
organised by the school and its catering company Scolarest on Monday, 3 July.
The On Your Marks competition saw two teams race against the clock to create
the best healthy dish from a selection of mystery ingredients, watched by an
audience of fellow students. Each team consisted of two students and an adult.
The event was also a surprise for trainee head Helen Kacouris who is leaving
the school at the end of term. Helen – unbeknownst to her – was chosen to be
one of the adult team members taking part, while the other team worked with
Scolarest business support manager Elaine Brockis.
During the competition, the two teams had just 15 minutes to prepare their
dish with the audience voting on the results of the cook-off. The winning team
were students Trinity Marsh, 14, and Ashanti Akin, 14, who worked with
Scolarest business support manager Elaine Brockis. Their winning dish was
sticky chicken flat bread with potato and sweetcorn hash.
The other team – students Tope Olocle, 15, Shannice Sablon, 14, and trainee
head Helen Kacouris – prepared turkey ragout with pasta and spinach.
Scolarest development chef Darren Tinkler was the compere for the competition
and highlighted some of the key healthy eating messages. “We think the best
way to inspire students to eat and live healthily is to make it fun and On
Your Marks is a great way of doing this,” says Darren. “As well as being
exciting to watch, the live cook-off also enables students to learn some
hands-on cookery skills.”
The competition is the latest in a series of healthy eating initiatives
introduced by the school and Scolarest to encourage students to eat well and
get excited about good food. “There have been major changes to the menus and
to the way meals are presented,” explains Scolarest business support manager
Elaine Brockis. “We have worked closely with the school to make the menus
healthier with more fresh fruit, salads and pasta dishes and freshly squeezed
orange juice. Fizzy drinks and confectionery are no longer sold. There are
also tablecloths and fresh flowers on each table to create an attractive
environment where students can enjoy their lunch. The school’s trainee head,
Helen Kacouris was very involved in these changes and we wanted to thank her
for all her support by inviting her to take part in the On Your Marks
competition. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the event and the students were very
enthusiastic.”
The school has also organised a competition for students to name the new-look
dining area, with prizes donated by Scolarest. The winning name, The Byte, was
dreamed up by Year Nine student Liam Trinh, who will be presented with a
portable television. The second place winner was Onur Goren who will receive
an MP3 player. In third place were Bagasan Graham and Hassan Khatouli who will
each receive a memory stick.
For more information, please contact CEA@Islington's Communications Department: