Glasgow student set for global culinary competition

City of Glasgow College HND Professional Cookery student, Robbie McDougall, will represent both Scotland and the college at this year’s Young Chef Olympiad (YCO).

The global culinary competition has been running since 2015 with culinary students from Scotland’s super college taking part since 2018. The event is usually held in India, however, due to the pandemic, it will take place online for a second year.

Robbie, who enrolled at the college in 2019 to do an NC in professional cookery, is being coached and mentored by lecturer in culinary arts, Hayley McCook. She said:

“Robbie’s drive, ambition and passion really impresses me. He's a very dedicated student who is constantly striving for better. He's come so far in the short time I have been working with him, and I have no doubt that he is going to do us proud. Our preparations have been slightly delayed due to Covid restrictions, but we're hoping to get Robbie back into the college kitchens soon and, meantime, he has been practising hard at home.”

Robbie’s first element is a skills test during which he must produce different cuts of vegetables. He will then prepare a wild mushroom ravioli with burnt onion broth, kale and goat’s cheese, followed by a creme caramel with an orange and whisky sauce, raisins and sultanas.

The 20-year-old from Royston hill in Glasgow, who attended St Roch’s Secondary School, is looking forward to taking part, adding:

“It is truly exciting and humbling to be involved in this competition and I am really grateful for the chance to showcase the skills and techniques I have learned in my few years of training, and to gauge my progress as a chef in a pressured environment.

“Becoming a chef is truly my only passion. I had other thoughts in school of what I was going to do, but cooking professionally was the job I really wanted. I would like to travel around Europe, France and Italy to be precise, and learn more of the craft while working.

“Chef Gary McLean is an inspiration to every culinary student in the college. Seeing him win MasterChef proved to us all that if you put in the hard graft you will be rewarded.”

Gary - Executive Chef at the college, and Scotland’s National Chef - is one of this year’s judges in the competition, having been made a Fellow of the International Institute of Hotel Management which runs the Olympiad. The Fellowship reflects his role at the college which sees him showcasing the college’s reputation for culinary and hospitality excellence through global relationships.

He previously coached and mentored the students who took part in the Olympiad and believes international competitions like this are a fantastic learning experience for students, saying:

“They find out what it’s like to work under pressure which, as a chef, is a big part of the job. It tests their skills so it’s about continually practicing and perfecting their techniques, all of which gives them an added advantage in their future careers.”

The Young Chef Olympiad starts on 31 January with Robbie’s first round taking place on Tuesday 1 February. He is competing in Group H which includes Uzbekistan, Equatorial Guinea and Switzerland.