Student Hospitality Challenge 2020

The Brakes Hospitality Challenge 2020 is back and now in its third year. The competition is targeted at teams of two student chefs and two hospitality students who will compete as one team and must be studying hospitality or cookery courses either at college or university.

This is an opportunity for you to develop ‘real-life’ cookery and hospitality skills such as accurate costings and the sourcing of local ingredients as well as providing a platform to showcase your culinary skills.

This year, all entrants will go directly into the finals held on Thursday 21th May 2020 at Edinburgh College, Granton Campus to cook their 3-course menu which you will serve to Seafood Scotland and Brakes Scotland customers.

This year is the ‘Year of Coasts and Waters 2020’ as themed by Visit Scotland. Splash into Scotland in 2020 and celebrate our remarkable coasts and waters.

Water is the life-blood of our green and pleasant country, it's what makes the landscape so special and loved. Explore some of our magnificent coastline by kayak or yacht, enjoy some delicious seafood and a wee dram from our seas and streams, uncover the secrets of a coastal fortress, or relax with a spot of fishing in our lochs and rivers. Brakes Scotland are asking teams to think about the Scottish coasts and waters for both food and drink elements. Please make all dishes modern, clean and well portioned as well as precisely executed. Dishes should be stylish, well presented and demonstrate great technique as well as being packed full of clearly defined aromas, textures and flavours.

Teams will have 2 hours 30 mins in which to prepare, cook and serve their 3 course – 6 cover menu followed by a further hour for the hospitality team to serve desserts, crumb down and serve coffee.

Teams must first submit:

FOR CHEFS:

We want you to create a three course – six cover menu based around the theme of ‘The year of Coasts and Waters’

Please use your creativity based on the above theme for starter and main and this year for dessert, Brakes Scotland would like every team to create a dessert that includes a Meringue Swan. The chefs have the chance to showcase their individual flair, cooking skill and inventiveness in all three courses with all dishes to tie into the Coasts and Waters theme. The menu must also include a breakdown of ingredients and methodology used for each course and the associated costs of each element.

FRONT OF HOUSE

This year the theme is pairing non-alcoholic beverages to the dishes above, with this is mind, please create an aperitif/mocktail, pairings to complement the three-course menu and a coffee of your choice for six guests. This is very much about thinking differently using soft drinks, fruit/vegetables, 0% alcohol and pressé to create drinks rather than serving a single bottle of wine.

Hospitality Students should note their reasonings for choosing the drinks in the methodology section.

Students will also be judged on their table decoration and napkin folding. Please don’t overcomplicate the table or overhandle the napkins.

Everyone is aware of the necessity to keep costs to a minimum, teams need to develop a three course, six cover menu using a maximum of £15 worth of ingredients per cover. Hospitality students can spend up to £10 worth of ingredients per cover to include all drinks and coffee.

Available to all colleges: Brakes Scotland will reimburse colleges with £50 towards the cost of ingredients/travel.

There will be three prizes this year!

• Top hospitality team
• Top Chef Team
• And Overall Top College

Hospitality students will receive a scholarship from the Hospitality Industry Trust to a top hotel in Scotland and will include a three-day work experience placement.

This year, chefs will receive a different but equally great prize due to their being no world competitions over the next year. The prize includes a supplier field trip to Shetland to see rope grown mussels with an overnight stay. Separate to this, the Scottish Chefs have kindly donated a full day’s learning experience including a competition workshop at the winning college and two tickets to the Scottish Chefs Conference in November

Embroidered chefs’ jackets and aprons will be provided for the final.

The closing date for entries is Monday 4th May 2020, all entrants will receive an email confirmation with final details for the event on Tuesday 5th May. Please keep an eye on our social media for all information and photos before, during and after the event @brakesscotland on Instagram or Brakes_Scotland on Twitter

All entries to be emailed to - chefchallenge@brake.co.uk

The competition is run by Brakes Scotland Limited (‘Brakes’) from 403 Edinburgh Road, Newhouse, Motherwell, ML1 5GH.

1. All entries must be full time students at the college they are representing and be undertaking hospitality or catering college course.
2. All entries should be received no later than Monday 4th March 2020.
3. Submission of an entry shall constitute acceptance of all terms and conditions.
4. To constitute a complete entry, teams must submit a menu, methodology and cost ingredients. Incomplete entries will be advised by email on Tuesday 5th May and must submit this ahead of the final.
5. All copyright existing on the entries and any promotional activities undertaken by colleges will remain with the individual team. However, by entering the competition entrants agree that Brakes Scotland reserves the right to use any materials submitted including but not limited to photographs for any purpose connected to the competition.
6. Teams that qualify for the finals will be contacted no later than Tuesday 5th May 2020 to confirm their entry into the final.
7. The finals will take place on 21st May 2020 at Edinburgh College, Granton campus. Teams will have 2 hours 30 mins in which to prepare, cook and serve their 3 course, 6 cover menu followed by a further hour for the hospitality team to serve and clean down the tables and serve coffee.
8. During the competition, at the competition final, lecturers of the competing college teams are not permitted within the kitchen areas once the competition begins. They are permitted to assist students at their workstations prior to the start and help clear up once finished. Once the competition has begun no coaching of students from chef lecturers is permitted.
9. Teams must provide all their own equipment and ingredients for the competition final.
10. Mise-en-place allowed; stocks, glazes, puff and filo pastry, peeled (not cut) vegetables.
11. Courses must be served in the right order ie. starter, main and dessert.
12. The first course should not be served within the first hour and subsequent courses should be at regular intervals.
13. Only judges and other selected competition representatives (such as sponsors, journalists and Brakes representatives) are permitted to taste the food presented.
14. All competition entrants may be required to participate in PR activity during the competition.
15. The judging panels decision is final.
16. The judging criteria for the competition will use the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) guidelines.

Chef Challenge PDF