Budding chefs from around the county showed off their skills in the kitchen at this year’s Young Cooks competition.

The competition, which is organised by the KM Charity Team and encourages young people to discover the fun of cooking, held its final round at Broadstairs College on Thursday, June 24.

Finalists from all four categories - Professionals, 16+, Secondary and Primary - cooked up their best dishes in hopes of impressing the judges and walking away with the prize.

This year, all category winners received an invitation to a VIP lunch at award-winning pub and restaurant The Dog in Wingham, where they will each cook a course of the meal alongside expert chefs.

“The judges had a really difficult job choosing not only the overall champion, but awarding the prize of cooking at The Dog in Wingham,” says KM Charity Team CEO Mike Ward. “In the end they decided on giving five of the finalists an opportunity to be part of the VIP luncheon.”

The competition, which focuses on children and young adults learning vital life skills as well as indulging in their passion for food, gave each entrant a budget of £10 to spend on ingredients for their dish.

“This competition is just brilliant and the young people are inspirational,” says former Great British Bake Off contestant Jane Beedle. “The judging was very hard but we picked the champion for the right reasons.”

The overall champion who walked away with the title of Young Cook 2022 and an additional £100 prize was Abbie Latymer from the Secondary category.

Abbie, from Dane Court Grammar School, wowed the judges with her dishes, pizza per sciogliere il cuore (pizza to melt your heart) and Super Moist Beetroot Mocha Cobnut Cake, and her kitchen management and recipe research.

The winners in other categories were:

Professionals: Joseph Rowlstone, from Broadstairs College, with his winning dishes Smoked Salmon Mousse with Pickles and Soda bread and Chicken Assiette.

16+: Maiana Bryan, from The View School, with her dish Spicy Chicken Tacos and Biscoff Delights.

Primary: Sophia Lee, from Briary Primary School, who cooked two lasagnes (one meat and one vegetarian) as well as Banana Cupcakes.

Young Cooks 2022 was sponsored by Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Brakes, Golding Homes, EKC Group, Southern Coop, The Dog at Wingham and Macknade.