Wallace pupil is a Future Chef

The Northern Ireland final of the prestigious FutureChef school’s competition, developed by Springboard and supported by Henderson Foodservice, will see five young and ambitious cooks, including Ewan MCCandless from Wallace High, face off against each other in the kitchen this month, judged by celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.

FutureChef Judges Geoff Baird from Henderson Foodservice (left) and Michael Deane (right) are pictured with Caitriona Lennox from Springboard

Joining Jean-Christophe and bringing their knowledge of homegrown produce and NI tastes to the judging panel, are owner of the Deane’s restaurant empire, Chef Michael Deane and Food Development Chef at Henderson Foodservice, Geoff Baird.

Olivia Drain from Ballymena Academy, Michael Thompson from Campbell College, Ewan McCandless from Wallace High School, Kristen Nugent from St. Ciaran’s College and Faith Belshaw from Newtownhamilton High School have made it to the final and have been mentored by some of the finest chefs to come from these shores. Chris Bell, John Clark, Chris McGowan, James Devine and Colleen Lennon have championed the young chefs alongside Chef Geoff who works with hundreds of restaurants and hospitality venues across Ireland in his role with Henderson Foodservice, the NI-based company which supplies to restaurants, cafes, schools and hospitals throughout the island.