Category: Home Economics

Hazelwood’s (Michelin) Stars Dazzle in Home – Cook Heroes Competition

Hazelwood College was represented by three dynamic students in the final of the Home Cook Hero Competition 2013 on Saturday 9th November last in the Cooks Academy Cookery School in Dublin 2. Gastronomic delights of all shapes and sizes were prepared and cooked by thirty finalists from across the country. In an intense contest, the finalists battled it out for the accolade of Home Cook Hero Award for 10 different categories along with Best Overall Dish and Best Culinary Skills.

Hazelwood College’s Neasa Fahy, first year, prepared and cooked Bacon Surprise with Beetroot & Feta Cheese Skewers for the Tiny Tastes category sponsored by Easy Parenting, while fellow first year Maedbh McCarthy’s category was Fabulous Fowl sponsored by Moy Park. She cooked Lemon Chicken. In the €10 Family Favourites category sponsored by Lidl, finalist Cathy Foley, Second Year, cooked Indian Butternut Squash Curry.

The three finalists, accompanied with a family member and their Home Economics teacher Ms. Noreen Daly, attended a black-tie gala dinner where they dined on a sumptuous three course meal followed by an awards ceremony which was hosted by TV3’s Martin King.

There was great excitement and shouts of jubilation when Cathy Foley was announced as the winner of the Best Culinary Skills Award. Cathy was a natural in front of the camera and spoke with great ease to Martin King regarding the inspiration for her dish. Ms. Noreen Daly Home Economics teacher said that “The girls worked to the highest standard possible and excelled themselves on the day. They worked with such ease, despite the pressures of the occasion and the TV cameras. They are a credit to their families and great ambassadors for the school”. Each of the girls received a beautiful boxed hamper of goods and certificate on the night.

Cathy received a voucher to the value of €350 for a 4 day cookery course in the Cooks Academy. Lidl who sponsored the Family Favourite category were so impressed with Cathy’s achievement on the night and her ease in front of the camera have agreed to use her recipe for in-store promotions across the country and will film Cathy making the dish for their website in the new year.

All eyes and ears will be watching and listening excitedly to see the girls on The Easy Food Home Cook Hero Awards which will be broadcast on TV3 this Saturday afternoon 16th November at 1.25pm for a duration of 30 minutes.

Hazelwood College students (left to right) Maedbh McCarthy, Celebrity Chef Judge Kevin Dundon, Cathy Foley and Neasa Fahy at the Shelbourne Hotel Dublin for the Home Cook Hero Awards 2013.

Culinary trio hope to bring home some Baking Bacon!

Three craft cooks at a West Limerick school are hoping that beetroot, butternut squash and lemon chicken will be their ingredients for success on national television. Neasa Fahy, Cathy Foley and Meadbh McCarthy from Hazelwood College, Dromcollogher have made it to the finals of the national Easy Food Home Cook Hero competition and will this weekend have the chance to show off their skills in front of a panel of celebrity judges in Dublin.
The girls are among 30 finalists of all ages whose dishes were selected from one of ten categories and they will now feature in an awards ceremony that will be broadcast on TV3 next Saturday. Hazelwood College Home Economics teacher Noreen Daly said that everyone at the school is excited for the girls. ‘This is a remarkable achievement for the girls considering the hundreds of entries received for each category. The students are busy putting the final touches to their dishes and we’re all looking forward to the final and wish the girls every success’.
The three dishes that have brought the girls to the doorstep of culinary fame showcase their tastes and creativity. Cathy, a second year student will be cooking an Indian Butternut Squash Curry; Neasa, a first year, will prepare a bacon surprise with beetroot and feta cheese skewers, while Meadbh, also a first year, will be hoping to impress with her lemon chicken.

All three will travel to the Cooks Academy Cookery School on South William Street, Dublin this Saturday, November 9 where they will cook their dish in front of celebrity chef judges Catherine Fulvio and Kevin Dundon.
The winners of each category will then be announced at an awards event at the Shelbourne Hotel, which will be presented by TV3’s Martin King and will be televised on the channel on Saturday November 16. A number of enticing prizes are on offer in the competition including kitchen appliances, restaurant and supermarket vouchers, kitchenware, utensils and hampers. The competition is sponsored by Easy Food magazine.
The contest is backed by a number of companies, including Moy Park, Dubliner Cheese, Heinz, Kenwood Lidl, Mr. Crumb, Sacla, Connaught Gold and the Powerscourt Hotel.

Article by Gerard Fitzgibbon- Limerick Leader

Apricot and Beef Stirfry

Máiríde Bennis a 1st year student has qualified to the semi-final stage of the uncle Ben’s begin with Ben cookery competition. The 4 competitors with the highest number of votes will qualify for the final and will get the chance to cook their dish in front of Nevin McGuire who will decide which dish wins. The winner will get 10,000 euro for their school; this will go towards the school canteen. So start voting!!!!!

Follow these steps to vote:

1 Log in to your face book page.
2 Go to Uncle Ben’s Ireland – or – Click the link below and move to step 4
3 Click on the link for voting on their page.
4 Click vote now.
5 Scroll down to apricot and beef stir-fry.
6 Click on the video and press vote underneath.
7 When the vote box turns blue your vote has been counted.
8 Share the video by clicking on the button beside vote.

***Click Here to Open the Voting Pages***

NB To be able to vote you need to be a Facebook User and be logged into Facebook. Access to Facebook/Vimeo and Facebook Apps are blocked from within Hazelwood College. It is not possible to vote, follow links or watch the above video while in school with student access. You will need to vote from home.

Lios Na Si Broadford Community Child Care Centre

Hazelwood College second year Home Economics students visited Lios Na Si Broadford Community Child Care Centre to learn about child development and education for their Junior Certificate Home Economics projects. As a token of appreciation from the students who participated in the visit, Edel Curtis (left), of Lios Na Si Broadford, was presented with a thank you card and buns on behalf of the staff from Shania Hanlon (centre) and Brigid Kiely (right).

Hazelwood Apprentice Chefs Face Up to the Heat in the Kitchen!

Two of Hazelwood College’s talented Home Economics students, Julia O’Doherty and Laura Stack, recently confirmed that they could take the heat in the kitchen, when they wowed judges with their exceptional culinary skills in the Apprentice Chef final held in the Institute of Technology, Tralee.

In a hotly contested regional final both competed against six other finalists from schools across Limerick, Kerry and Cork. The students had to create a recipe for a main course using ingredients listed in the “Good Mood Food List”. Marks were awarded on presentation, quality and skills demonstrated, along with a written project.

Laura Stack created a mouth watering dish which consisted of crispy chicken with spinach and tarragon stuffing served with roast vegetable filo basket and a bell pepper sauce.

Julia O’ Doherty impressed judges and secured victory with her sole roulade served on a bed of stir -fried vegetables, potato gratin and a prawn bisque sauce. Apprentice Chef Mentor Judge Mark Doe said “We have been blown away by the standard of not only the cooking of the students’ dishes, but just as importantly the standard of projects they submitted”

Julia’s exceptional win was rewarded with a very generously sponsored prize of €1,000 worth of cooking equipment for Hazelwood College by Lee Strand, a three day internship with Apprentice Chef Mentor Simon Regan at the 5 Star Hotel Europe in Killarney, three cookery workshops with Apprentice Chef Mentor Mark Doe at “Just Cooking” cookery school in Firies, three Innerjoy Wellbeing coaching sessions with Susan Fitzgerald, an Apprentice Chef uniform, kitchen utensils and certificate.

Sixteen year old Hazelwood College Transition Year Programme student, Julia O’Doherty, who was announced as the Overall Winner of The Apprentice Chef 2013. Presenting her with a cheque of 1,000 euros is John O’Sullivan General Manager Lee Strand, from left, Mark Murphy Lecturer ITT, Simon Regan, Chef – Hotel Europe, Mark Doe, Chef – Just Cooking, John Murray Lecturer ITT, Susan Fitzgerald Innerjoy & Wellbeing Coach, Noreen Daly Home Economics Teacher Hazelwood College.

National HomeCook Baking Overall Winner

Recently Hazelwood College student Bríd Flanagan beat nearly two thousand entrants to secure victory in the ‘Homecook Baking Games’ Competition. Here she is presented with her winner’s trophy, prize and certificate of excellence. Pictured are (Left to Right) Master Baker Derek O’ Brien, Hazelwood College Home Economics teacher Noreen Daly, Bríd Flanagan (first Year) Hazelwood College, Celebrity Chef Kevin Dundon and Dee Laffan Editor of Easy Food Magazine.

Hazelwood Rises to the Apprentice Chef Challenge!

Laura Stack and Julia O’Doherty, two Home Economics students from Hazelwood College attended the semi-final for the ‘Apprentice Chef Competition’ in Institute of Technology Tralee on Thursday last. Laura Stack, currently in second year, and Julia O’ Doherty, a TY student, faced the challenge to create a recipe and prepare a main course using only ingredients from the ‘Good Mood Food List’. The Hazelwood College pair saw off competition from students in schools across Kerry, Cork and Limerick to win the coveted places in regional final on Friday, March 8th.

The competition is generously sponsored by Institute of Technology Tralee, Lee Strand, ‘Just Cooking’, Firies, ‘Inner Joy’, ‘Utensils’ and Taste of Kerry. The students were met by Chefs Mark Murphy, Mark Doe and Simon Regan in the Hotel and Catering Department of the I.T.

The overall regional winner will receive €1,000 for their school, sponsored by Lee Strand, plus a three day internship with Chef Simon Regan. The ultimate victor will also win three cookery workshops with Chef Mark Doe at Just Cooking, Firies, three Innerjoy Wellbeing Coaching sessions with Susan Fitzgerald, an Apprentice Chef uniform and kitchen utensils.

Competition mentor, Mark Doe, feels that this is a positive opportunity for schools. “With the importance of healthy eating and you are what you eat, we believe that the Apprentice Chef will bring an enhanced awareness of this to the Secondary Schools,” he said. The girls’ Home Economics teacher, Ms. Daly, expressed her confidence in the students, labelling the students as ‘extremely capable and self-motivated’.

(left to right) Mark Doe, Proprietor of ‘Just Cooking’ Culinary School, Hazelwood College students Laura Stack and Julia O’Doherty and local chef Simon Regan at the IT Tralee Hotel and Catering Department. The Hazelwood College pair participated in the ‘Apprentice Chef Competition’ Semi-Final as preparation for the upcoming Regional ‘Apprentice Chef Competition’ Regional Final

Home Cook Hero

Hazelwood College first year student Aine Bennis was recently selected as a finalists in the ‘Easy Food Home-Cook Hero Awards 2012’ competition. It is a national cookery competition which was open to the public, of every age, and sponsored by ‘Easy Food’, which is Ireland’s best selling food magazine. Three finalists for each of the ten categories were invited to the Cook’s Academy Cookery School in Dublin on the 2nd November where they cooked their chosen recipe in front of a panel of celebrity judges consisting of Kevin Dundon, Catherine Fulvio and Catherine Leydon.

The favourite top ten dishes were picked and the winners were announced by none other than RTE’s Marty Whelan at a gala black tie awards dinner in the Shelbourne Hotel Dublin which was attended by Aine, her parents Anita and John and her Home Economics teacher Ms. Daly. Aine spent hours fine-tuning her recipe for the Caca Milis category with the help of her Nanna so that her black forest gateau could meet the competition time requirements of 80 minutes.

Aine prepared, cooked, decorated and served a delectable and mouth-watering black forest gateau cake and tantalised the taste buds of the celebrity judges. The star studded awards event allowed Aine to meet celebrities and master chefs such as Kevin Dundon, Catherine Fulvio, Catherine Leydon and also RTE’s Marty Whelan.