Aspiring young chefs from Twickenham clashed spoons in the national cooking competition.

Nine students from Waldegrave School and four from Twickenham School aged between 14 and 15-years-old competed in the first round, cooking a two-course meal of their choice.

The end results in the Rotary Young Chef Competition were judged by a professional chef and a panel comprising the heads of food technology at both schools.

This year’s winners were Annabel Costa-Fereira (first place), Carmen Mallinson Pocock (second place) both of Waldegrave School, and Harmoni Edwards (third place) of Twickenham School;

The winners were judged on taste and presentation of the meals, planning, costing, correctness of temperature, neatness of working area and hygiene, and the range of skills used.

Annabel received a trophy and book tokens, and the two runners up also received book tokens. All the members who took part in the competition received a certificate.

Annabel and Carmen will now go forward to the next stage of the competition which will be held on January 27 at South Thames College in Morden.

The stages are Borough level, District Semi Final, District Final, and Regional Final. The prize for winning the final stage is a holiday in Italy, £250 cash, and a day’s training by a Michelin Chef.

The competition is for amateurs – it is not open to students who are enrolled on a full time catering course studying for a qualification above “A” level standard.

Prizes were presented by the Mayor of Richmond, Councillor Lisa Blakemore and by President of The Rotary Club of Twickenham upon Thames, Ian Cave.