The third year of Dairy Chef was held at Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in Galway yesterday (Wednesday, April 6).

The competition is organised by the French Embassy in Ireland, in partnership with National Dairy Council (NDC) and CNIEL (Centre national interprofessionnel de l’economie laitiere) and invites culinary students from top colleges in France and Ireland to create a three-course menu celebrating Irish and French dairy products.

Each dish created must follow the theme of this year: ‘Sustainability and innovation in meals of the future’.

Dairy Chef contest

The Dairy Chef contest was judged by renowned chefs and food personalities in France and in Ireland, highlighting the thriving food culture and culinary education in both countries.

Paula Stakelum, executive head pastry chef at Ashford Castle in Cong and celebrated Irish food writer John McKenna, were joined by Thierry Charrier, chef at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign affairs, and Vincent Villeroy, chef at the Embassy of Ireland in France.  

The jury included two representatives of the Irish institutions: Sheen Duffy, member of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and Dave Mulvaney, member of City of Dublin Education and Training Board.

Strand 1 – novice students

Team 1: Manon Lugan, Bruno Nascimento, 

Lycée Georges Freche, Cork Education and Training Board.

Strand 2 – experienced students

Team 1: Hugo Blondet, Christopher Buckley,

Ecole des metiers, Dijon, TU Dublin – Grangegorman.

To enter the competition, French and Irish culinary students were asked to submit a menu with photos detailing three-course menus celebrating the best of Irish and French dairy products inspired by the theme sustainability and innovation in meals of the future.

According to organisers, the standard this year was incredibly high and 12 finalists were been selected out of 20 candidates. This year, they were split into two different categories depending on their training level.

Food writer and judge John McKenna said: “The standard of the entries for the contest as always was very high which made the task of selecting the finalists challenging.

“I was delighted to see the French and Irish dairy produce used in such an inspiring way, making the most of high-quality ingredients and a variety of dairy ingredients, and using them in creative and dynamic – and delicious – ways that were genuinely original.”

Since April 2015, the Ficaht Network aims at promoting students mobility in hospitality, catering and tourism sectors.

The objectives of the network are, encouraging student mobility and apprenticeship, developing EU-wide programmes through the Erasmus+ scheme, supporting knowledge sharing through study/work abroad programmes and exchanging good practices culinary arts and tourism sectors.

The Ficaht counts today more than 130 members and partners. Its annual meeting allows French and Irish further education and training (FET) institutions to gather and develop new partnerships.