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Pots and Pans at the Ready!

Search is on to find Northern Ireland’s Young Cook of the Year!

The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland today began its search to find the best cooking talent in school’s across Northern Ireland with the launch of the Young Cook of the Year competition.

To celebrate that Derry ~ Londonderry has been awarded the honour of the first ever UK City of Culture for 2013, the popular cooking competition is inviting students to chose an event from the calendar of activities and prepare a two course meal to entertain friends who will be watching the celebrations.

The cookery competition, which aims to promote cooking skills and highlight the importance of a balanced diet, is encouraging students to use locally sourced ingredients, including dairy products to produce a nutritious meal.

Dr. Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, said: “We are looking forward to starting our search to find Northern Ireland’s next budding chef.

“We recognise that 2013 is set to be an exciting time for Northern Ireland. We want to celebrate this while educating young people about the importance of using dairy products to create a meal that is suitable for sustaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

“We would like students to make use of a wide variety of dairy ingredients such as milk, cheese, yogurt and buttermilk when considering their meal plan to showcase that dairy products are a simple and economic part of any balanced diet.”

The competition has been developed in consultation with the Education and Library Boards and supports the Home Economics curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.

Winners will be chosen from each Education and Library Board area, with the overall category winners and the Young Cook of the Year announced at a special cook-off in March 2013.

Entry forms will be sent to all schools and colleges in Northern Ireland and are also available online at www.dairycouncil.co.uk. The closing date for completed entry forms is 1st March 2013.

Caption: Alana Buckley from Ulidia Integrated College helps Michael Drayne, Chairman of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland to launch this year’s Dairy Council Young Cook of the Year competition.