Press Release

Filippo Berio joins Rotary and Fifteen to discover the UK and Ireland’s Top Young Chef

31st January 2007

Filippo Berio, the UK’s favourite Olive Oil*, is delighted to announce that it will be working with Rotary and Fifteen – the restaurant founded by Jamie Oliver – to support Rotary’s renowned Young Chef Competition, Filippo Berio acting as sponsor for both the 2007 and 2008 events.
Now in its seventh year, the Rotary Young Chef Competition was created to give young people across the UK and Ireland the chance to display their creative talents with food, while discovering the importance of healthy eating.
Filippo Berio and Fifteen will be supporting the competition in various ways, supplying materials, olive oil, competition judges (both Filippo Berio’s Country Manager, Walter Zanré, and Fifteen’s Head Development Chef, Peter Begg, will be on the panel) and, importantly, potentially life changing prizes for the winners, including a day working at Fifteen and a trip to Filippo Berio’s olive groves in Lucca, Tuscany.
How the Competition Works
The competition starts locally, with individual Rotary Clubs (there are 1,845 spanning the UK and Ireland) organising heats at a local venue, such as a school or college. The winners then go on to a District competition, a Regional final and ultimately to the Great Britain and Ireland final – the 2007 final will be held at Lutterworth Grammar School on May 5th.

The young chefs (all young people of secondary school age can enter) prepare a healthy three-course meal for two people for a fixed cost, allowing them to demonstrate their ability to create great food without expensive ingredients and, crucially, to follow the principles of a healthy diet.  They have a set time to prepare their food and to display it for the judges, hygienically and at the correct temperature. 
The young chefs are then judged on their healthy menu, planning and organisational skills, hygiene, and preparation skills and, of course, the taste and presentation of the final dishes.

Rotary Young Chef is aimed at anyone who enjoys cooking or who wants to have a go, it’s not just for experienced young cooks.
As Filippo Berio’s Country Manager, Walter Zanré, explains:
“ Filippo Berio spends a great deal of time promoting the importance of healthy eating and simple cooking. The key reason we wanted to support Young Chef is that it was a truly ‘open’ competition that encouraged all young people to take part.
“As we know only too well at Filippo Berio, great, healthy food doesn’t need to be fussy. With just a few, simple, healthy, ingredients and the right attitude you can create a feast!”
Rotary, Filippo Berio and Fifteen all agreed that the teaching of culinary skills to young people is now sadly lacking.
“How can we expect children to eat well and to grow up with a love of good, healthy food, if we don’t give them any grounding in cooking skills – skills which they could then pass on to others,” states Filippo Berio Marketing Manager, Diana Anderson.
“We are delighted to be supporting Rotary’s efforts and to be the sponsor of Rotary Young Chef 2007 and 2008.”

Peter Begg of Fifteen agrees;
“Everyone at Fifteen believes that young people should be encouraged to learn about food and to how to cook.  This competition is a great opportunity to celebrate that and I am looking forward to tasting some wonderful food prepared by these young chefs.” 
Rotary organiser and creator of the Young Chef competition, Linda May says;

 “Rotary Young Chef could be a stepping stone to a career in the food industry, but this is not the main aim of the competition – it is simply a good way for young people to have fun learning an important life skill.
“We’re delighted that Filippo Berio is now supporting us in these efforts.”
Rotary Young Chef 2007 in association with Filippo Berio
With the local and regional events now well underway, the final of this year’s competition will take place on 5th May 2007 at Lutterworth Grammar School.
The judging panel includes:

Mrs. Linda May. Rotary Young Chef Organiser
Mr Peter Begg. Head of Recipe Development Fifteen Restaurant
Mr. Alberto Conti. Chef, Fifteen Restaurant
Mr Walter Zanré. Country Manager, Filippo Berio Olive Oil.
Rotary Young Chef 2008 in association with Filippo Berio
Rotary Young Chef is open to all young people of secondary school age in the UK and Ireland.

For more details:

• Simply email your contact details to youngchef@ribi.org
• Contact your local Rotary Club direct and ask them about Young Chef. 
  (To find your nearest club, look on the Rotary website www.rotary-ribi.org
  then search for your local club on the yellow panel on the top right).
• Or phone Mr. Robin Freeman on 01789 765411 for details.

The 2008 final will be held at Westminster Kingsway College in London in April 2008 and feature a prestigious panel of experts and celebrity judges.

The closing date for entries for the 2008 competition is 30th September 2007.