Move over Masterchef!

There was the scent of something delicious wafting around the school last Saturday afternoon and it wasn’t coming from the refectory.

Generally speaking, of a summer weekend, boys’ games and boarding activity co-ordinator Mr Butt can normally be found gracing the cricket fields of Kent. This weekend though he was masterminding the first Boarders’ Cookery Competition.

After a meeting in the dining hall on the Thursday night, those interested in taking part met outside Brooke House at 11:20 to be ferried up to Sainsbury’s with a grand total of £15 each to spend on ingredients. They were given help choosing these and given a time limit of 25 minutes to do so.

Upon their return it was to the Food Studies kitchen to get cooking. Each of the contestants, ranging from Year 9 to Year 13, had an hour and a half to concoct a dish or dishes that would be judged on taste, presentation and difficulty. You can imagine the concentration, the heat, the steam, the panic as the clock ticked down and finally the elation and relief at producing the finished pieces.

All agreed that it had been an evenly matched contest, but there had to be a winner and in the end, it was Brabourne boarder Kitty who emerged triumphant with her take on egg-fried rice. Boarding captain Bruce came in second and Brooke and Refuge man Nabeel third.  I think that judging by the photos below that even Masterchef Michel Roux Jr would have been impressed.

Thank you Mr Butt for organising a great afternoon and we all look forward to seeing more chefs duking it out next year.

Making the Grade

          "Hide your computer!" That's the advice that boarding captain Bruce would give to future exam students when AIB caught up with him and fellow Yr 13 Oscar, earlier this week. "Oh, and your phone as well." he adds "Cut off your connections to the outside, that's the only way." Making sure you have no distractions is certainly good counsel, coming from an A2 student who has been there and experienced the stress that exams can bring.

          You might think then, given all this stress and the pressure of making it into your university of choice, that the atmosphere would be tense. Far from it, as it happens. Bruce and Oscar were laughing and joking over a plate of chicken drumsticks, in Alfred Sky Room, after a hard day of revision and exams. Both have just retaken their Chemistry AS exam, in order to improve on last year's marks (Bruce is going for Chemistry at university and Oscar, Medicine). In fact Oscar jokes that he'd rather sit exams than sit in the house.

          Oscar's first piece of advice also concerns diet: "Don't drink Red Bull, it doesn't help the concentration. It's been biologically proved." Though it's often difficult to tell if Oscar is joking or not, what he follows this with could not be more serious: "Do all the past papers." Bruce nods sagely.

         Going for what was thought to be an obvious answer, we asked the boys what they would be doing as soon as they finished their exams in a few weeks' time. Both responses showed just what sort of people the Ashford School boarding community produces. Oscar said that he would like to try to improve his cooking skills (we joked that his medical specialism could be food poisoning!). Bruce, on the other hand, thought he might take the time to learn something new, "maybe a language." The  education continues then boys!

           During their leavers' assembly the Year 13s had joked about what they would miss about Ashford School. However, when pushed on the same question about boarding, Bruce and Oscar were unanimous in their praise for their housemaster, Mr Vaughan. "There's no double standards." Oscar stated plainly. Bruce compared dealing with the staff in Alfred to "dealing with friends. There's a mutual respect" he added.

          Respect is earned boys and you've done that....well done and good luck for the future!