YOUNG cooks used local produce to create their own dessert recipes for a cookery competition.

Seventy pupils from King Alfred’s Specialist Sports College, in Wantage, took part in heats to create an innovative British dessert or cake recipe using seasonal ingredients all sourced from the area.

Six finalists aged 14 and 15 were selected and judged by Daniel Andersson, from the school’s contract caterer Aramark, along with catering tutors Anna Small and Greg Dunn.

Ms Small, the school’s head of catering, said: “The desserts in the final were of a very high standard, so it was difficult to choose a winner.

“There is a hospitality and catering GCSE at the school but this was something extra – it was not part of the coursework.

“The competition was great fun and I think all the pupils did very well.

“The idea was to use local produce as ingredients to tie in with British Food Fortnight.”

The six winning desserts were: pear tarte tatin, white chocolate demi-fredo mousse with blackberries, apple lattice pie, apple and cherry baclava, fruity Bakewell tart, and rich chocolate tart with white chocolate sauce.

Jackie Ward, 15, won the cook-off on Tuesday with her pear tarte tatin recipe over two other girls and three boys.

She said: “I’m amazed that I won because it was such a tough competition.”

The teenager won a Levi Roots cookbook.