Tyrone girl named UK’s best young chef in competition

A KILLEESHIL girl with a passion for cooking has won the search for the UK’s next culinary superstar.

Kristen Nugent (15), a student of St Ciaran’s College, Ballygawley, has been crowned winner of Springboard’s FutureChef national competition, following a tense final at Westminster Kingsway College in London.

Kristen impressed judges in London in the final which saw 12 up-and-coming chefs from across the UK battle it out in the annual competition.

In the final stage of the competition, competitors had two hours and 45 minutes to prepare a main course and dessert for a panel of industry-leading judges, including Adam Handling, Nieves Barragan Mohacho and 2023 National Chef of the Year, Ben Murphy.

Having previously won the Northern Ireland heat, Kristen has been hard at work with her award-winning mentor, James Devine, to hone her skills and create dishes that wowed the judges.

She prepared a beautiful display of smoked and poached rainbow trout, citrus cured rillette, hens’ egg, chive mash, soused vegetables and herb butter sauce along with her rhubarb, vanilla panna cotta, granola crunch crumble and maple dessert, Kristen was crowned winner which will now see her receive ongoing support, development and apprenticeship opportunities courtesy of Springboard – including the chance to have her recipes published.

“It was absolutely amazing and so unexpected,” said Kristen.

“The first hour went slightly sideways but I stepped back, took deep breathes and after a 30 second break I got myself back together and it went really well after that.

“It has been a whirlwind experience competing in the FutureChef competition – and it is amazing to see the hard work finally pay off.

“The support and guidance I have received from my mentor James, has been instrumental in my success.

“I am more passionate than ever about pursuing a career in hospitality and I cannot wait to see what the future holds and the opportunities this will unlock.”

Kristen’s mentor, James said that it has been a pleasure to see Kristen grow over the past few months.

“Her confidence and knowledge have skyrocketed,” he said.

“Competitions like FutureChef really help the next generation explore their passions and it is exciting to see the next generation of culinary superstars developing and experiencing success already.”

Springboard FutureChef is a school-based programme that supports the development of life skills while inspiring young people to pursue and exciting career within the world of hospitality.

The competition called on budding chefs to compete and develop their culinary skills, with different rounds introducing participants to important themes around sustainability, plant-based, and zero-waste cooking.

Outside of FutureChef, Springboard has recently celebrated hitting its Springboard to 2022 target, helping 10,000 young people into jobs in hospitality last year.