Cork's Hannah ready to cook up a storm

CORK student Hannah Conroy is set to take part in the Knorr Professional Student Chef of the Year competition on Thursday next.

The second year Culinary Studies student at Munster Technological University (MTU) is one of 10 student chefs from culinary colleges who will battle it out in the kitchen to win the highly regarded title.

This is a particularly significant year for the contest as it celebrates its 25th anniversary and this year, it takes place at Dundalk Institute of Technology.

Hannah and the other student chefs will be hoping to impress the expert judging panel with their culinary creativity and skills.

They are challenged with preparing and cooking two dishes based on this year’s theme, ‘classic dishes with a modern makeover’. 

The students will be judged on their skills, creativity and presentation of their dishes.

Hannah, from Lisgoold near Midleton, grew up on Woodside farm where her family rears pedigree Saddleback pigs. They also have food stalls at Midleton, Mahon Point and Douglas Farmer’s Markets where they cook and sell the produce from the farm.

Food has been a central point of Hannah’s upbringing and she is dedicated to forging a career in the culinary world. Her ethos in cooking is, buying from the local producers, and creating a more sustainable livelihood for everyone.

Unilever Food Solutions executive chef Ireland Audrey Crone said the Student Chef of the Year competition “is widely respected within the hospitality sector for its reputation for showcasing the talents of our culinary students. Previous winners have gone on to have very successful careers as well as writing recipe books and presenting television programmes.

“Every year, student chefs present dishes that would make the cut menus of many of the world’s top restaurants.

“The judges are really looking forward to experiencing what the next generation of Ireland’s top chefs will serve up,” said Ms Crone.