CHEFS and members of the Cotswold community leant their support to an inter-school cooking competition final that included pupils from Fairford, Hatherop, Kempsford and Southrop Primary School.

The finals, held at the Fairford Festival on the weekend of May 3-June 3, involved students who take part in The Kitchen Club at their schools.

Budding young chefs competed in two rounds internally to narrow down their team. Chefs Bob Parkinson of Made by Bob, Sam Ludlow of Masons Arms in Meysey Hampton, and Matt Wardman and Charlie Hibbert of Thyme in Southrop popped into the schools to offer support and advice as the children prepared dishes in front of them.

Sam said: "The kids were great. Lots of nice colourful food. I think it's great what you guys [The kitchen Club] are doing."

This was The Kitchen Club’s third annual Inter-School cooking competition.

The theme this year was 'Eating-A-Rainbow' and each team had to create dishes that incorporated a minimum of five fruits or vegetables. Schools in which The Kitchen Club teaches at were invited to compete in the competition.

In the Final at the Fairford Festival, three judges, Fairford’s Mayor Stephen Boulton, Councillor Chris Roberts, and Anna Baker of The Kitchen Club, observed the young chefs as they prepared their dishes in the one hour time slot.

Southrop's team won with their chicken stir fry and watermelon pizza. Kempsford came in second with their potato rosti, ratatouille, parmesan and pesto kebab and fruit pudding and Hatherop and Fairford tied for third place with Hatherop's rainbow frittata and raspberry fool and Fairford's rainbow noodle soup, nine veg bolognese and watermelon pizza with fruit kebabs.

Head chef and nutritionist of The Kitchen Club, Meliny Tim said: "I'm so proud of what our children achieved - their creativity and choice of colourful dishes truly showcased their joy for cooking."

The Kitchen Club is a pop-up kitchen with teachers that are passionate about teaching cooking and nutrition to this generation.

Their main work includes teaching cooking to primary school aged children, enabling them to make healthy food choices throughout their lives.

The Kitchen Club offers small group classes and whole school day sessions to primary schools in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Oxfordshire.