The finalists of a new competition to find the Inverness’ own young Masterchef will go head-to-head in tonight’s grand final.
Inverness Culloden Rotary Club is running the competition which had its early stages in February and March. The budding young cooks have since been whittled down to the four most talented chefs.
They are Megan Keith from Millburn Academy, Aleksandra Bannach from Inverness High, Emma McBride from Inverness Royal Academy and Ronan Melans from Charleston Academy.
In the early rounds, each school chose its own four candidates and the winner in each got the chance to experience the heat of the professional kitchen in a busy Inverness restaurant under the gaze of a top chef.
These included Little Italy, Loch Ness Country House Hotel, Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel and Cafe 1.
Each pupil produced two dishes from the restaurant’s menu and these were judged by the chefs.
Tonight at 7pm the final four will make a start to their three courses which will be judged by former Three Chimneys and Michelin Star chef Michael Smith. The head chef at the Glenmoriston Townhouse Hotel, Cornel Uys, will also be assessing the food.
The finalists will cook in the state-of-the-art Albert Roux kitchen in Charleston Academy, with the “tasting” taking place in the assembly hall in front of a large audience of friends and family.
The cooking will be live in the hall via skype from the kitchen.
Organiser Duncan MacDonald, of Inverness Culloden Rotary Club, said: “The competition has been very successful. The pupils have been out during the last two weeks to restaurants in the town and spent a whole day their finding out what a busy city centre restaurant can be like. The final dishes are their own creations but will also be shaped by what they have learned during their time in the restaurants.
“A competition like this is important for those who want to have a career in the hospitality industry, and to be showcased like this, particularly in front of a chef like Michael Smith, is just fantastic. The competition can also stop youngsters from thinking that if they want to progress they have to go away somewhere else in the country to do it.”
In addition to the main sponsors Williamson Food Service and Asda, the Glenmoriston Hotel, Morrison’s supermarket and Chisholm’s undertakers all contributed financially to the competition.