A TALENTED chef at Loch Lomond Golf Club is celebrating after cooking up success in the Young Scottish Chef of the Year competition.

Rosie Maguire won a silver medal at the Scothot event at Glasgow’s SEC, as well as winning best main course for a dish of venison loin, caramelised celeriac puree, roasted onion faggot, pickled berries and scorched purple sprouting broccoli.

The 22-year-old has been working as a demi chef de partie in the fine dining kitchen since graduating from Derby University in June last year and, due to her impressive development, has just been promoted to chef de partie.

READ MORE: Faslane sub team picks up Navy award for catering excellence

But she admits she was shocked to do so well last month in the competition, which recognises the best chefs under 23, after battling it out with more experienced contenders to produce a meal in two-and-half-hours in front of a live audience.

She said: “It was such hard work getting to the day of the competition and just doing it and managing to finish on time – I was so exhausted and relieved. I never set out to come in a certain place, it was more of a personal challenge to reach a standard of cooking.

“I was very surprised and proud I managed to win best main course as, although we were around the same age, some of them had been in the industry five years longer than I had and I had chosen quite a different route by going to university [to study culinary arts] so I thought I was on the backfoot experience-wise.”

Rosie, from Balloch, created an ambitious menu inspired by seasonal ingredients and aimed to show these at their best.

READ MORE: Naan can compete with Annaya's as restaurant wins another award

As well as her venison main, she also cooked an amuse bouche of pan-seared queen scallop, pomegranate and shallot jam and compressed apple; a starter of red mullet, fennel, crispy artichoke, chorizo espuma and black olive crumb; and a dessert of honeyed ricotta, lemon and rosemary pearls, nougatine, brown butter crumble and candied rosemary.

She added: “Coming off the back of winter, we did use a few winter vegetables and incorporated stuff coming in with spring. I’m from a farm background and it taught me about seasonality and sustainability and to be more thoughtful about what we’re making.”

Darren Harrison, executive chef at Loch Lomond Golf Club, told the Advertiser: “We are all delighted. Rosie is really competent, and has exceeded expectations.”