Dairy Chef is back! After two years of cancellations, the third year of this culinary student competition will be held at GMIT in Galway on Wednesday 6th April 2022. The competition is organised by the French Embassy in Ireland, in partnership with NDC (National Dairy Council) and CNIEL (Centre national interprofessionnel de l’économie laitière) and invites culinary students from top colleges in France and Ireland to create a three-course menu celebrating Irish and French dairy products. Each dish created must follow the theme of this year: “Sustainability and innovation in meals of the future”.

The Dairy Chef contest will be judged by renowned chefs and food personalities in France and in Ireland, highlighting the thriving food culture and culinary education in both countries. Paula Stakelum, Executive Head Pastry Chef at Ashford Castle and celebrated Irish food writer John McKenna, will be joined by Thierry Charrier, chef at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign affairs, and Vincent Villeroy, chef at the Embassy of Ireland in France. The jury will be completed by two representatives of the Irish institutions: Sheen Duffy, member of the HEA (Higher Education Authority) and Dave Mulvaney, member of City of Dublin Education and Training Board, will represent further education.

H.E M.Vincent Guérend, Ambassador of France to Ireland will chair the jury and said,

“I would like to congratulate all the candidates participating in the Dairy Chef 2022 competition! The pandemic has had a huge impact on practical training in Ireland and France and I salute the courage and perseverance of these students. International mobility is central to the training of young people and to the construction of a European education area, and creating lasting links between students and training institutions is at the core of the cooperation between France and Ireland. This culinary competition highlights the quality of education provided by FICAHT members, enabling students to acquire the technical and linguistic skills needed for tomorrow’s job market.”

To enter the competition, French and Irish Culinary students were asked to submit a menu detailing 3-course menus celebrating the best of Irish and French dairy products inspired by the theme Sustainability and innovation in meals of the future. The standard this year was incredibly high and 12 finalists have been selected out of 20 candidates. This year, they will be split into two different categories depending on their training level.

Cathy Curran, Communications Manager of the National Dairy Council said

“The standard of the entries for the contest as always was very high which made the task of selecting the finalists challenging. I was delighted to see the French and Irish dairy produce used in such an inspiring way, making the most of high-quality ingredients and a variety of dairy ingredients from French Munster cheese to Irish buttermilk”.

The 6 teams, each made up of an Irish and French student, will have two months to prepare the menu that they will cook on Wednesday 6th April 2022 in the kitchens of the Atlantic Technological University, Galway (GMIT). The cook-off will officially open the 5th FICAHT Forum, taking place until the 9th April in Galway.

List of Finalists for Dairy Chef 2022 Cook Off

Strand 1: novice students

Team 1

Manon LUGAN & Bruno NASCIMENTO

Lycée Georges Freche/Cork Education and Training Board

Team 2

Maël PETRY & Anissa MOKHTARI

CFA Eugénie Brazier Dieppe/TU Dublin – Tallaght

Team 3

Samuel PUFFET & Robin MARTIN

CFA Médéric/MTU – Cork

Strand 2: experienced students

Team 1

Hugo BLONDET & Christopher BUCKLEY

Ecole des metiers, Dijon/TU Dublin – Grangegorman

Team 2

Pauline PLACE & Ciaran LOONEY

Lycée Jesse de Forest Avesnes sur Helpe/MTU – Cork

Team 3

Pierre LOUAPRE & James KIRWAN

Faculté des métiers CFA Ille et Vilaine/Waterford Institute of Technology

For further information about the Ficaht forum 2022 and dairy chef competition final: https://ficaht2022.weebly.com/welcome.html 

Contact details for the Embassy of France in Ireland: academic@ambafrance-ie.org or +353 1 277 5056

For futher information contact:
Cathy Currran, Communications Manager, National Dairy Council
+353 1 290 2518 | pr@ndc.ie