A ST Peter the Apostle High pupil has grabbed second place at a regional cooking competition following a month of preparation with a top chef.

Abby Coote, 14, was mentored by the head chef of a Cameron House restaurant, The Claret Jug, since early January.

The opportunity came about after the Clydebank pupil won the Dunbartonshire local final of Springboard’s annual FutureChef competition.

And to prepare Abby for the regional final of the competition, head chef Gemma Arnott, worked closely with her.

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Abby said: “I have learned so much from Gemma in such a short space of time. She has taught me a range of new techniques and really helped me through this process.

“While I would have loved to win the regional final, I’m really pleased with getting this far in the competition and I’m excited to try again next year.”

The final took place last month with Abby being crowned runner up after she presented a dish of duck with an orange and carrot puree, mangetout and potato rosti, followed by raspberry and white chocolate profiterole dessert.

Mentor Gemma’s passion for developing culinary talent has seen her own team at The Claret Jug restaurant deliver some of Scotland’s finest clubhouse food.

Gemma said: “It’s essential for our industry that we focus on developing the next generation of Scotland’s culinary talent and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Abby.

“She is a very driven young chef and worked incredibly hard for the regional final. While she narrowly missed out on taking first place, she received fantastic feedback and encouragement from the judges.”