Eunick travels to France to compete in prestigious Contest Olivier Roellinger
An Edinburgh College student recently travelled across Europe to test herself amongst the best in a sustainability-themed cookery competition orgnanised by renowned 3-Michelin star chef Olivier Roellinger.
Level 6 Professional Cookery student Eunick Igbinoke was one of twelve students selected from across Europe - and the sole competitor from the UK - to compete in Contest Oliver Roellinger at the Lycée Hôtelier de Dinard in France last month.
Eunick said: “I’m very proud that I was selected to take part in such a prestigious competition. It was a great opportunity to meet so many people who share the same passion as me and gain valuable experience cooking against so many other talented individuals in a competition format.”
Organised in partnership with Ethic Ocean, the contest aims to bring together students, professionals, famous chefs and representatives from the fishing industry to promote sustainable cooking and a sustainable seafood supply chain.
Competitors took part in three challenges in total. The first challenge was to create a gastronomical style recipe based on a sustainable fish species in no more than two hours and 30 minutes. Next, competitors had to create a homemade style recipe, that utilised the same species of sustainable fish as the first challenge, in under 30 minutes. Finally, competitors had to give an oral presentation on the importance of sustainability.
Eunick said: “We were challenged with coming up with a recipe using sustainable varieties of fish, with the aim of making four portions of a gastronomical dish and a quicker homemade dish. I decided to create a dish that used fresh cod and langoustines. As part of the competition, we also had to answer questions from the judges on the reasons why we picked the ingredients that we did, and talk about what makes the dish sustainable and where all the ingredients originate from.”
Eunick, who grew up in Nigeria before moving to Scotland, has had a long-standing passion for cooking that has seen her excel in her studies and she has big dreams for what she would like to do after College.
Eunick said: “I had been out of education for some time and have always had a long-standing passion for cooking ever since she was a young girl, so this course has been perfect for me. I really enjoy just being in the kitchen and I feel like that’s where I am most comfortable. I currently work in the Ivy at St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh, but one day I would love to have my own restaurant.”
Professional Cookery lecturer John Anderson said: “We’re all really proud of what Eunick has achieved, she worked extremely hard to research appropriate varieties of seafood to satisfy the scientific judges and developed a well-balanced gastronomical dish for the chef judges. Her home-produced dish had links to her Nigerian and Scottish heritage. Eunick showed great commitment and enthusiasm from the start of the process and was deservedly rewarded with invaluable experience competing in France with International students and attending the Marine sustainability conference with leading experts. We hope to compete in the Olivier Roellinger contest in the future through our Ethic Ocean and Dinard school partners and with Eunick as an ambassador for future cookery students.”