Level 2 Professional Cookery student, Jacob Swanepoel, flew to Venice to compete in the CombiGuru Challenge, presented by UNOX.
The CombiGuru Challenge is the ultimate competition for catering colleges in the UK offering young chefs the opportunity to enhance their culinary skills in a unique and exciting learning environment.
The competition is made up of three stages the app challenge, the oven challenge and the Venice experience. To have the chance to fly to Italy in an all-expenses paid trip and take part in the Oven Challenge, students must first complete the App Challenge which consists of a set of theory-based questions and games on the CombiGuru app. The highest ranked student from each college goes through to the next round.
Having ranked highest in Combi Guru’s 21-day app challenge, Jacob found himself among the top 40 competitors of 3200 from further education colleges across the United Kingdom, winning him the chance to represent West Herts College in the final at Unox HQ in Venice.
This year’s Oven Challenge tasked the contestants with three hours to prepare a main course and dessert using broccoli, chilli and coffee. For the main, Jacob made a delicious roasted pork loin with grilled broccoli and bacon chilli mash potato, and for dessert he made an indulgent coffee ice cream with a chocolate ganache.
When the competition was over, the aspiring chefs were treated to a boat trip and walking tour to explore the incredible sights of Venice. This included seeing landmarks such as St Mark’s Square and the Rialto Bridge.
Summing up the experience Jacob shared: “It was absolutely beautiful, and I had a great time. I didn't win but I’m grateful for the experience and proud of the work I produced! I met some amazing people and made new friends with catering students from other colleges. Thank you to CombiGuru UK and my tutors for giving me this opportunity. I’ve never been to Venice before so I’m very lucky I got to visit. I’m honoured I got to participate and represent the college, especially because I’m very passionate about this industry.”
If you’d like to follow in Jacob’s footsteps and take part in competitions like these, then check out our Professional Cookery courses here.
