Great Potato Challenge for Ayr student

Feb 6 2009 by Cheryl McEvoy

Kallaya Smillie

STUDENT Kallaya Smillie is bidding for culinary glory – thanks to the humble tattie.

For the trainee chef will battle it out with nine chefs from across the UK to claim the title of Great Potato Challenge Champion 2009.

The 36-year-old’s skills in the kitchen secured her a place in the final of the competition run by the Potato Council.

Her dish – Red Rooster and Dunsyre Blue potato cake with truffled spinach, petite ratatouille and roast red pepper dressing – brought her to the attention of judges, who believed that it demonstrated an understanding of the different potato varieties, their tastes and textures.

Kallaya is a second year student at Ayr College, where she is studying for an HND in hospitality management.

And she was thrilled to make it through to the final of the competition.

She said: “This is amazing, I am so excited.

“Quite often in our course we are set tasks to create new dishes and my entry was a result of one of those classes.

“In fact, my tutor thought it was so good that it was put on our college restaurant menu and people loved it.”

And Kallaya revealed that her success so far is all the more remarkable as she’d never cooked a potato before starting her course.

She explained: “Funnily enough I had never cooked a potato before starting my college course. In my culture rice is more popular, so getting to the final of this competition is marvellous.”

The 10 finalists will take part in a challenging cook-off on in London later this month.

Heike Kroemer from the Potato Council said: “The response to this year’s competition has been overwhelming.

“We were delighted to receive so many well thought out and inspirational potato-based recipes. The range of varieties and different cooking methods demonstrated the true versatility of the potato.”