The taste of success: talented Chichester teen celebrates after reaching Rotary Young Chef final

James Hackman, who attends the Chichester Free School, cooked his way through four challenging rounds to reach the national final, which was sponsored by Italian food giant Filippo Berio and held at St Benedict’s High School in Alcester, close to Rotary Great Britain & Ireland’s Headquarters, in April.

Inspired by classic British cuisine, James cooked up a storm with his duo of wild rabbit, seared loin and leg, and black pudding boudin, with celeriac fondant, wilted spinach, baby carrots, wild garlic pesto and rabbit jus. James followed that with a dark chocolate, Cointreau and amaretti torte, with a salted caramel tuille.

Sponsored by Rotary Chichester Priory, James’s path to the final saw him triumph in a series of qualifying rounds, including district and regional finals. In the grand final itself, James had just two hours to prepare and serve his winning dish, which was judged by Lisa Mullins, marketing manager for Filippo Berio and a long-time supporter of Rotary Young Chef, and Elaine Wroblewska, catering lecturer at the Heart of Worcestershire College.

A spokesperson from Rotary Chichester Priory said: “We’d like to send our congratulations to James for reaching the final six of Rotary Young Chef 2024, a tremendous achievement and testament to his passion and talent for cookery.”

For more than 15 years, the Rotary Young Chef competition has been shining a spotlight on some of Great Britain and Ireland’s brightest culinary talent. Open to young people aged 11-17, each year the competition garners hundreds of entrants, nominated by Rotary Clubs across the two countries.

Find out more about Rotary’s competitions and programmes for young people at www.rotarygbi.org.