A COLLEGE catering competition was held at Southgate College last week and judged by a top London chef.

Students from Southgate College, Barnet College, The College of North West London and Waltham Forest College had a cook-off in the campus restaurant, off Southgate High Street, but Southgate College students were pipped at the post.

The winners were Dinalyn Cordero and Nabina Pun from the College of North West London, with an avocado, tomato and bacon salad with sweet corn tempura, grilled lamb cutlets and vegetables, and gooseberry and hazelnut tart.

Chefs Alan Bird, executive chef at The Ivy restaurant, in Covent Garden, and Dominic Teague, head chef of 1901 at the Andaz Hotel in Liverpool Street, gave marks out of five for hygiene, taste, texture, timing and presentation.

Mr Bird said: “The students put in a fantastic effort, they should be proud of themselves. They were under lots of pressure but they handled it like professionals.”

Mr Teague said: “It was very hard to judge, with only two points separating first place from third. It’s a pleasure to come along and be part of competitions like this and put something back into the industry."

This is the first time this competition has taken place but there are already plans for more colleges to be involved.

Southgate College catering tutor Peter Tiley said: “This was a great chance for lower-level students to perform under the same high intensity that they would experience in a professional kitchen."