Two transition year students in a Monaghan Town school went head-to-head in a special cookery competition yesterday that was adjudicated by celebrity chef Gary O’Hanlon.
Beech Hill College students Ellie Connolly and Cónall Sheerin made it to the final, which was sponsored by the Hillgrove Hotel and its chef, Paul Dolan, provided his help and advice along the way.
A lot of work went into organising the competition, which involved a state-of-the-art kitchen being installed in the school’s sports hall to allow Ellie Connolly and Cónall Sheerin to show off their culinary skills in front of their class mates.
Oure reporter, Diarmuid Pepper, began by speaking to Fiona Mulholland, who is the Head of Transition Year in Beech Hill College.
She explained more about the competition and was full of praise for the students who put it all together (CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE TO PLAY THIS CLIP):
Next up, I spoke to the finalists of the Beech Hill Transition Year Cookery competition, Ellie Connolly and Cónall Sheerin.
He began by asking Cónall if there were any nerves ahead of the final:
Celebrity chef Gary O’Hanlon was the special guest and adjudicator.
He’s an executive chef who is well-known on our TV screens and he spoke about the different paths that lie ahead for students interested in a career in catering.
He also spoke about his career which has seen him travel all over the world and said it was brilliant to see such an interest in the competition:
The Hillgrove Hotel sponsored the competition and its sales and marketing manager, Sharon McMahon, spoke about the importance of having a strong connection to the local community:
The competition of was an incredibly high level, but there can only be one winner, and Cónall Sheerin fell just short, with Ellie Connolly picking up the top prize.
Chef Gary O’Hanlon was full of praise for the pair, and he explained what enabled Ellie to claim the top prize and Ellie gave her reaction to the news:
