Posted by Manawatu Standard, AU on August 15, 2010 at 09:56:26:
Manawatu Standard News
By MICHELLE DUFF - Manawatu Standard
When a 12-year-old knows more about cooking the perfect chicken breast than most people twice his age, his competitors should probably be worried.
Newbury School's Jack Kennedy is in a team of four young culinary whizzes who have won the regional Maggi Intermediate Schools Kitchen Showdown, beating almost 20 other local teams.
During the intense contest, judges quizzed the young chefs about their chosen creations.
The Newbury School team of Jack, 12, Renee Duncan, 13, Jessica Wilson, 12, and Jack Tyler, 12, whipped up a chicken, mushroom and spinach fettucine.
When the judge fired a question in Jack's direction, he was able to snap back the answer.
"Because they taste better in pasta and they have a little bit more flavour to them and they are more tender than chicken breasts," relayed Jack yesterday, without a moment's hesitation.
The reply must have impressed, along with the team's cooking skills. On September 1 they will represent Manawatu at the national showdown, and feature on after-school programme The Erin Simpson Show.
The four chefs were chosen to compete after a lengthy interview process, conducted by two classmates, to see who had the most knowledge about cooking.
After agreeing on a recipe, the team set to work practising how to make and plate four different-sized portions, while keeping within the tight time frame of between 40-50 minutes.
At the regional contest in Petone, the pressure was on to get it right – but the pupils reckon their support team of teacher Caroline Transom and Yvette Kennedy, Jack's mum and owner of Nero's restaurant, were more nervous than they were.
"The last five minutes when we had to plate up everything and get the pasta right, because you can only put it in the pot for 45 seconds and then it overcooks," Jack said.
"They were going hyper," Jessica said.
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