BP2015 Potato Industry Dinner will feature winning dish of AHDB Student Competition

Delegates at BP2015 are in for a treat as a competition winning dish will be served up at the industry dinner. Potatoes naturally take a starring role in the main course dish created by a local Harrogate College student, as part of a competition run by AHDB Potatoes.

Expanding its educational strategy to get more youngsters cooking with and eating potatoes, AHDB Potatoes challenged the college’s level 2 professional cookery students to come up with a main course to showcase the versatility of potatoes. The winning recipe was bubble and squeak with belly pork, created by Frazer Coulby and will feature on the dinner menu next month.

All participating students will work behind the scenes to help prepare the winning dish in the Harrogate International Centre kitchens, gaining valuable hands-on experience which will go towards their qualification.

Nick White, head of marketing and corporate affairs for AHDB Potatoes, said: “We are fully committed to educating the next generation about the versatility, taste and all round goodness of potatoes. We already have incredibly successful projects in place for primary and secondary schools; however, we believe there is room to expand our activities into the further education sector.

“We want to actively target young chefs in order to inspire them to use potatoes in new ways and see them as more than ‘a bit on the side’. As we know with our current consumer marketing campaign, while there is real affection for potatoes a lack of knowledge about varieties and how to cook them leads people to stick to the same dishes time and again. Despite restrictions imposed by operating in a busy working kitchen the students excelled themselves in finding innovative ways to feature potatoes on the menu.

Frazer’s dish was not only visually stunning, but the combination of classic favours made it a stand out winner.

“Learning about sustainability and local produce is crucial in the hospitality sector too and we hope that by driving up awareness of all the benefits of the national crop amongst catering colleges and university students, we will deliver benefits back to the sector.”

Rosemary South, hospitality tutor at Harrogate College, said: “We were delighted to be asked to take part in this competition. The students worked hard to produce well-thought out potato-based meals that met strict criteria for a busy dinner service, including cost, delivery and quality.

“The rewards are far-reaching, not only providing an excellent focus so early in the academic year but also for the development of work and employability skills. As well as looking at different potato varieties and how they perform, students got to meet the chef at Harrogate International Centre and see the workings of a professional kitchen. They are incredibly excited to put their skills to good use and experience the thrill of catering for a huge event, making competitions such as this a fantastic experience.”

Nick White will be talking about current marketing and educational activities as part of his BP2015 seminar; ‘Opportunities for growth for the potato sector. The industry dinner, for which tickets remain available, takes place on Thursday 12 November.

For more information and to register, visit www.bp2015.co.uk