A TEAM of Eastleigh College Level 3 Hospitality and Catering Course students have taken part in a national culinary competition.

Otis Cope, Hayley Barnes and Chloe Irish cooked at the regional heat of the annual Brakes Students Chef Team Challenge at Westminster Kingsway College, London.

The competition, designed to showcase their talents, challenged the chefs to create a modern menu of clean, well proportioned and precisely-executed cuisine.

Teams put their catering and budgeting skills to the test by developing a three-course, four-cover menu using just £8 worth of ingredients per serving.

The trio cooked a warm salad of duck ballotine and wild mushrooms, steamed salmon with herb-infused samphire jelly, aromatic broth and a fish veloute foam served with winter vegetables.

Although they were just pipped at the post for third place against tough competition from seven other teams, Eastleigh College Hospitality and Catering Lecturer Richard Carter said they did incredibly well to make it so far.

“The competition was a great opportunity for our students to demonstrate the hard work they have put in to their course this year,” he said.

“The team really stepped up and their menu choice and cooking was outstanding. I’m really proud of their achievement; it’s the furthest in the competition we have ever got.”