Gwynedd catering Student Ruben Schlegel Evans has blown away the judges at this year’s CogUrdd cooking competition.

The 17-year-old Coleg Menai student was one of just seven young chefs from Wales to make the live final, where competitors had just two hours to cook two dishes on their own; a main course using Welsh pork with potatoes, carrots, and parsnips, and an apple dessert that featuring a hot and a cold element.

For his main, Ruben made a crispy, herb-crusted pork schnitzel with a potato, carrot, and parsnip gratin layered with a Swiss cheese sauce and a touch of spice. Ruben used leftover root vegetables from his gratin to make a fresh coleslaw.

Head judge, chef Chris Summers, called it a “perfect gratin”.

“I was so pleased and inspired by his positive comments,” said Ruben.

For dessert, Ruben hand-crafted apple roses that were baked with apricot jam and cinnamon sugar with honey and a cold, hand-whipped vanilla cream. He picked out green and red striped plates from Portmeirion to match the Urdd colours.

Ruben, the youngest and least experienced in the final, is was incredibly proud of what he achieved. He says the fantastic feedback he received from a professional chef has given him a massive confidence boost.

Ruben wants to encourage other students to give competitions a go.

“I would strongly recommend anyone studying even if you are at level 1, to take part in competitions like this because you learn so much from those you compete against, as well as the feedback from a professional chef,” he said.

“I would like to thank everyone who has been part of my journey in this competition, especially my mum and dad for eating and giving me feedback on so many pork dishes over the past months whilst I prepared and practised for the competition.”