TWO EASTLEIGH students have netted themselves a place in a national seafood cooking competition.

Michael Worth, 20, and James Tumilty, 17, from Eastleigh College have won a place in the final of the 2019 UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition.

They earned their position by preparing a three-course menu of butter poached plaice, oven roasted fillet of hake and pan-fried fillet of cod during a regional heat in Norwich on May 10

Michael and James will now compete against eight other teams of two in front of judges at the final next month, with the competition offering participants a platform to demonstrate their flair and skills using sustainable seafood and is open to all full-time and college-based modern apprentice chefs under the age of 25-years-old.

This year’s final judging panel includes Daniel Clifford, chef patron of two-Michelin starred Midsummer House restaurant, Cambridge, and two-time winner of BBC Two’s Great British Menu.

Michael and James will now compete against eight other teams of two in front of judges at the final, to be held at The Grimsby Institute, Grimsby, on the 14th of June. This year’s final judging panel includes Daniel Clifford, chef patron of two-Michelin starred Midsummer House restaurant, Cambridge, and two-time winner of BBC Two’s Great British Menu.

The winning team will receive a trip to Holland, £500 for each team member, and a £1,000 voucher that can be spent on catering equipment for their college, a cookbook, a competition trophy, a competition medal and prize certificates.

The competition is sponsored by Seafish, a public body which supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, and run by the Grimsby Institute, a further and higher education University

Curriculum manager of hospitality, at the Grimsby Institute, Paul Robinson, said: “The road to competition final is always hard-fought, and an invaluable learning experience for all of the young chefs involved.

“Competitions like this are not only a great way for colleges to show off the skills that their students have been developing and shine a spotlight on the next generation of culinary talent, but also to highlight their students’ knowledge and awareness of sustainable seafood practices.”