Chef Katie keeps to the classics at WorldSkills UK

Katie Cooper, Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) apprentice and chef at Michelin-star restaurant Carters of Moseley, is feeling confident after impressing judges at the regional heats of the WorldSkills UK Culinary Arts contest held at Merton College, Surrey.

Excellence in all aspects of modern and classic cooking, the ability to produce detailed work plans and a comprehensive knowledge of bakery and butchery were just a few of the long list of ‘core competencies’  demanded from contestants in this gruelling initial heat.

UCB Chef lecturer and competition mentor Tony Wright described Katie’s performance as “brilliant,” despite a particularly testing surprise round demanding all participants cook a smoked haddock Florentine from scratch.

“Katie was very impressive,” he said. “She maintained a really rigorous work ethic and incredible attention to detail right the way through what was a very demanding competition.

Designed to test the most classical French cookery skills from the iconic culinary arts institution Escoffier, Katie was given four hours to produce four portions of three highly technical dishes: oeufs poche a la hussarde, poulet saute madras and bavarois a la Normande.

However, having beaten 9,000 students to win Springboard’s prestigious FutureChef title in 2017, Katie is no stranger to performing under pressure.

Official results will be announced in August, when Katie will also learn whether or not she has made it to the competition’s UK final.

“As a chef, Katie is definitely one to watch,” added Tony. “She works at a fantastic restaurant in Birmingham and, despite how hard she works, is always ready to go the extra mile to achieve something great – even if that means coming in on her days off. She will go far.”