Student chefs are proving themselves in a competition highlighting the versatility of Manx food and drink.

Hospitality and Catering students at the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education are taking place in the first ever Isle of Man Student Chef of the Year competition.

Today, 11 students, whittled down from an initial 30, cooked up dishes featuring delicious Manx produce.

Putting the dishes to taste test were Janna Horsthuis from competition sponsor Robinson’s, well-known local chef Tony Quirk and Audrey Fowler, Marketing Officer with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, which has a ?50 million strategy to grow the food and drink industry.

Four students – Nicole Crawley (lamb broth), Maria Eduardo (fillet steak with creamed potato), Tyler Livesey (queenie and crab ravioli) and Dominik Woloszyk (grilled trout with potato and egg ravioli) – were selected to go through to the semi-finals, being held at the Isle of Man Queenie Festival on Sunday 16th August.

Two finalists will then be chosen to compete for the Isle of Man Student Chef of the Year title at the Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival on Sunday 20th September.

Richard Ronan MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said: ‘This competition, generously sponsored by Robinson’s, is an important part of our ‘Food Matters’ strategy as it highlights Manx talent, produce and the significant contribution of the food and drink sector makes to the economy.’

‘We are thrilled to be sponsoring this new competition, which celebrates both the culinary talent of the Island’s young chefs and the quality of local produce,’ said Janna Horsthuis. ‘We are committed to supporting local growers and producers and encourage young chefs to make the most of Manx produce. We look forward to working with new talented chefs within the Island’s catering industry.’

Chris Franklin, Chef Lecturer of Hospitality and Catering at the College, said: ‘This competition is an exciting opportunity for our students to practice and demonstrate the skills they’ve learned and to cook in a live theatre environment. We wish the semi-finalists the best of luck.’

The Student Chef of the Year will be awarded ?250, a trophy and a certificate.

The Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival will also see the main Chef of the Year title, also sponsored by Robinson’s, decided.

To find out more about the festival, visit www.gov.im/food.

Photo - Student Chef of the Year Semi-finalists.