Charlotte Heath, aged 15 from Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls, Warwickshire, has been named the Red Tractor beef and lamb Mmmake it with Mince National Champion 2011 by celebrity chef and TV presenter James Martin.

 

The Stratford student impressed judges with her Lamb and Date Patty Pan Tagine during the live finals, beating five other regional winners to be named the 2011 National Champion.

 

Promising young chef, Charlotte, will now enjoy a money-can’t-buy day with Mmmake it with Mince judge, James Martin.

 

The prize will see her enjoy an all-expense paid trip to London where she will go backstage to watch the filming of James’ Saturday Kitchen cooking show and meet the guests. Charlotte will then enjoy both lunch and dinner with James at two of the capital's top restaurants.

 

The Challenge, was open to all 11 to 16 year olds in Key Stages 3 and 4 and was designed to complement the Food Technology curriculum. To enter, students were required to submit their own original recipes using beef or lamb mince. The competition aimed to demonstrate the ease and versatility of cooking with beef and lamb mince. Whether it was adding a new twist to an old classic or creating something totally new, all recipes must have been developed and cooked from scratch. 

 

The best entries were invited to regional cook-off finals in November 2011 judged by James Martin and our panel of food experts. Regional Winners will win an MP3 player and £200 worth of school kitchen equipment vouchers and all students who took part in the cook-off tour received branded chefs whites and a James Martin cookery book. 

 

The FREE to enter Challenge, led by James Martin is now in its sixth year and was launched by EBLEX* to engage, educate and inspire students to get hands on cooking experience and appreciate the importance of good nutrition, quality ingredients and understanding where your food comes from. 

 

For pictures of the regional heats and more information about the competition: