Soup-erb Win for Carluke’s Country Cooks

24 Feb Soup-erb Win for Carluke’s Country Cooks

Carluke pair win club’s first ever National Country Cooks title. Laura Hunter and Jack Young impressed with their improvised meal concocted, cooked and presented in just 1 hour.

The competition was held on Sunday 22^nd February at the North Inch Community Campus in Perth. Contestants working in pairs had 1 hour to cook and plate dishes using at least five of the eight surprise ingredients provided. This year’s secret ingredients were Chorizo, Bread, Cream Cheese, Sweet Potato, Pheasant, Apple, Kale, Maltesers.

Laura explained that their calm approach got them through the pressure of the Country Cooks kitchen:

“We are absolutely delighted to have won National Country Cooks 2026 and be the first pair from Carluke to do so! Whilst the stakes were high, we remained calm and thankfully the competition didn’t look like a scene from Hell’s Kitchen. The time limit and surprise ingredients definitely pushed us, but we were chuffed with the end product.”

Their winning dish consisted of; tomato, kale and chorizo soup with flatbread to start; followed by crispy fried pheasant with a soy sauce and chorizo crumb with sweet potatoes and a kale dressing; and finally, an apple and cinnamon swiss roll with crushed Malteser. Laura explained it was working as a team that helped them get the win:

“Our district and regional eliminations set us up well, and whilst the focus was on culinary skills it also boosted our skills in time management, organisation and teamwork. Thanks to SAYFC for putting on a great event!”

2^nd Place went to Alexandra Greig and Jack Greig of Vale of Alford with their meal of flatbreads with a garlic yoghurt; stir fried pheasant with onions and chorizo, crispy kale and sweet potato wedges; and apple crumble with custard.

3^rd place went to the Ednam pair of Alex Edgar and Emily Edgar who cooked; pheasant, chorizo and kale in a tomato sauce; and a Malteser sponge, cheesecake trifle.

The judges on the day were Fiona Steele and David Sole. In his closing crit David praised the contestants for their teamwork and problem solving under pressure:

“They did incredibly well in quite challenging circumstances. The teamwork was exceptional. When you worked together you did a brilliant job. Everyone had some excellent dishes, and it was a real pleasure to taste them, so we’ve had a fantastic afternoon. The quality of the culinary skills was really good and on every station, there was something that really stood out for us.”

Thanks to our competitors, judges and stewards for a fantastic day of competition.