FOOD, FAMILY AND FUN
The Ashley Centre Food Festival
Children and adults visiting The Ashley Centre on Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April were invited to take part in a food festival that included cooking demonstrations, free giveaways, food tasting and a free entry to a prize draw worth over £250.
"I was really pleased to be in The Ashley Centre while this fabulous food event was taking place," said Tracey Foskett from Chessington, " There were some lovely smells in the air, and I followed my nose! I managed to catch a very informative food demonstration about Southeast Asian cuisine and got to taste a lovely Thai stir-fry at the end of it."
The highlight of both days was a children's cooking competition called "Junior Chef Factor", where mini chefs from Epsom competed in front of a live audience by preparing the popular desert Eton Mess.
Saturday's 'Junior Chef' winner was Selby Hellion age 8, with runner ups Paul Boardman age 10 and Owen Hillion age 11. Sunday's competition resulted in Abigail Palmer age 9 winning first place, with runner ups, Adam Taylor age 9 and Rebecca Palmer age 6.
The Ashley Centre's kitchen stage proudly served as a venue for Epsom chefs to demonstrate their culinary skills. Paul Metcalfe, chef for catering firm Turning Tables, wowed the crowd with his fusion twist on the Mexican Chicken Fajita while Pascal Mama age 14 of City of London Freemen's School used Lakeland's cupcake machine and icing kits to make beautifully decorated cupcakes. All ingredients were supplied by Waitrose and Marks & Spencer, Thorntons and Lakeland.
"It was wonderful to see young children get so passionate about cooking," said Charmain French, event manager for The Ashley Centre, "I was genuinely surprised at the high calibre of cooking during the two days. It is obvious Epson is a hot spot for budding young chefs!"
Below we have pictures of:
Selby Hillion
Paul Broadman, Selby Hillion, Owen Hillion and Paul Metcalfe
Pascal Mama and Charmain French
Pascal Mama and Natasha Self
The Ashley Centre hold regular events throughout the year. They have events coming up over Easter – take a look at Easter at The Ashley Centre.
