AppleCore Foods and the Institute of Tourism Studies organized the first ever edition of the Lurpak Cooking Challenge, held at the ITS on 27 May.

30 students competed at the ITS Main Kitchen, and were judged by Chef Joe Vella (executive chef at the Hilton Malta), Chef Rennie Zammit (former executive chef at the Radisson Blu) and Chef Steve D’Anastasi (ITS Malta).

Students also had to make best use of Lurpak Butter, the latter being the main sponsor of this event. They were also given a basket of products, marketed locally by AppleCore Foods, including Arla, Menu and La Rambla, to use in their dishes.

Five prizes were up for grabs:

Best Use of Lurpak Butter – won by Elisa Fenech

Best Overall Dish (also including a trip to Denmark as a stage at a Danish Restaurant) – won by Andrea Amore

Best Starter – won by David Vella

Best Main Course  - won by Andrea Amore, and

Best Dessert – won by Stefan Axisa

Students were also given a certificate to mark the event, and trophies were awarded to the winners by the three judges, as well as Antoinette Stellini, director of sales at AppleCore Foods, and ITS chairman Ernest Azzopardi.

Commenting, Ms Stellini said: “This is a brilliant event for AppleCore Foods to support our upcoming chefs, and to also bridge the gap between academy and industry. We are proud to have supplied the ITS with our products, and look forward to more fruitful collaboration with the Institute”.

Furthermore, Adrian Mamo, director of the ITS said: “Such competitions form part of the institute’s vision to enhance the relationship with industry which includes not only tourism, hotel and catering establishments, but also suppliers of products and equipment. Furthermore, these competitions are a fantastic learning opportunity for our students; who take such events very seriously showing their level of commitments and the high standard in skills and competencies learnt from their respective lecturers.”