A former student of North West Regional College has been named Heritage Chef of the Year by Baxterstorey.
Claire Rodden from Buncrana faced tough competition from her peers in Scotland, England, Wales and Europe, as she competed at the competition in London.
Clare said: “I am delighted to have won the Chef of the Year 2017 award. I would like to acknowledge the support and encouragement, which I received from the team in AIB Ballsbridge in Dublin.
“I have been working hard on my menu over the past few months. For the final of the competition, I had to create two dishes, in 90 minutes. The dishes also had to be from local suppliers. I am proud to say, I used 10 local suppliers in my final dishes.
“My career really began at the North West Regional College in Derry, where I studied Catering. While I was there, I got good practice for the Chef of the Year 2017 competition; I won the Student of the Year Award 2013.
“I also worked in the Ubiquitous Restaurant in Buncrana, before moving to Dublin. I have also worked in a hotel in Cannes on the French Rivera, which I found very interesting.
“I picked up lots of skills and recipes.”
Claire obtained her degree in Culinary Arts and Food Technology from Dublin Institute of Technology.
