A Year 7 student at Nova Hreod Academy, Jamie Scotford, is celebrating after winning a national competition to find the country’s best young baker. 

Budding young chef Jamie entered this year’s Springboard FutureChef Bake Off competition after signing up for the school’s Food Technology Club. As part of the competition, entrants across the country were challenged to produce a savoury tart using a homemade shortcrust pastry and to submit photographs of their creation to the expert judging panel. Competitors were able to choose their own shape and style of tart but were asked to use fresh, seasonable ingredients and avoid food waste.

For his entry Jamie baked a wild mushroom and lamb crumble tart, with pickled red cabbage and a soup shot. In being crowned this year’s Bake Off Champion, Jamie was recognised for his creativity and culinary prowess. To commemorate his success, Jamie won a customised chef jacket and a knife set that will be presented to him at the National Final of the FutureChef competition later this month. 

Speaking of his achievement, Jamie said: 

“I really enjoyed working on my menu and choosing the ingredients. I worked with my teacher to decide on an original flavour and how to best present my final dish. As a member of our school Green Team, I was particularly interested in being able to reuse ingredients and reduce food waste in my entry. I’ve been cooking at home for three or four years now but this is the first competition I’ve entered and I was excited to find out I’d won. I’d love to be able to cook all the time and I hope to become a professional chef!” 

Nick Wells, Headteacher at Nova Hreod Academy, said: 

“We were very proud to find out that Jamie had firstly been shortlisted for the competition final and then to find out he had been crowned the overall winner. Alongside being a talented young person with a passion for cooking, Jamie is a valuable member of our school community acting as tutor representative, student librarian and a member of the Green Team. He is highly deserving of this success. 

“At Nova, we strive to give all our students access to opportunities where they can develop talents that are unique to them, expand their interests and give back both to our school and local communities. A key part of how we do this is through our extra-curricular programme, which we call SuperNova. We’re looking forward to continuing to deliver and expand this programme so that future generations of Nova students can continue to benefit from all that it has to offer.”