Brother and sister battle it out in top cookery final

6:12pm Friday 16th May 2008

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SIBLING rivalry will reach new heights next week when brother and sister battle it out in the final of a national cookery contest.

Andrew and Julia Seager, of Bishopthorpe, York, will work against the clock to prepare and cook a two-course meal they created themselves.

They are among six finalists to win a place in the final of Cook It! - a national competition for ten to 14-year-olds run by The Guild Of Food Writers.

Their success comes after a rollercoaster year for the youngsters, who coped with the trauma of their father suffering a massive brain haemorrhage in January 2007. Last May, Andrew and Julia decided they wanted to do something to help their dad, who remains at Thistle Hill Care Home, Knaresborough, and raised £3,362 for the brain injury charity Headway by organising a sponsored walk.

Proud mum Amanda, a lecturer at the College Of Law, in York, where her husband, Mark, was also a lecturer, said: "After what they've been through in the last year it makes their achievement all the greater and I know their dad is really proud of what they've done.

"We were astonished when they both got through to the final and I'm incredibly proud too."

The challenge is to create a main course and a dessert to serve between two and four people and then prepare and cook it in no more than an hour-and-a-half. Andrew, a pupil at Archbishop of York Junior School, said: "I jumped up and down when I found out I was in the final because I was so happy.

"I really enjoy cooking. I have helped my mum in the kitchen for a while and in the last two or three years I have made my own dishes.

"Sometimes I follow a recipe and sometimes I make it up."

On the 11-year-old's menu is a main course of Thai salmon with mango and spring onion rice, sweet and sour mange tout and basil, and a dessert of ginger and lime crème brulée.

But despite his flair for cooking, Andrew is adamant he does not want to be chef.

He said: "When I grow up I don't want to be a chef. I want to be a footballer and play for Chelsea."

Andrew will have to be on top form to beat older sister Julia, who said she was determined to beat her younger brother.

The 13-year-old will be cooking a main dish of pork, pesto and palma ham with courgettes and mini roast potatoes, followed by an Italian trifle. The Tadcaster Grammar School pupil, who came third in the final two years ago, said: "Dad is really pleased and he hopes that we win. I made my pudding for him and brought it in for him in a bowl."

First prize is an Italian experience in London put on by the Italian food company Sacla, including hotel accommodation, a culinary tour and a hamper.