Students at Whangārei's Hora Hora school impress with their cooking skills

Budding chefs Michelle Tepania-Puru Luke, 8, Melita Faumuina,10, Maio Kemp, 7, Arianne-Rose Ryder, 10, and Madison Chiaroni, 7, with their professional recipes at the bake-off comp. Photo / Tania Whyte

Whangarei's Hora Hora Primary School has many young 'Master Chefs' in its wings, and a bake-off competition just brought these budding chefs into the spotlight.

From fritters using wheat breakfast biscuits instead of breadcrumbs to rare steak cooked to perfection, and presenting the dish with the utmost professionalism, the Whangārei school students are mastering the art of cooking, with a slight push from family and teachers.

About 50 kids between the ages of 5 and 10 from Hora Hora Primary School took part in the bake-off competition on Tuesday.

Principal Pat Newman was "immensely impressed" and said there wasn't one dish that wasn't superb.

"It went exceptionally well. There was pure learning and fun, from cooking to presentation. The children learnt many life skills and, above all, it tasted bloody great.

"These kids learnt how to cook, spent time with their parents going over the recipes at home learning a great deal about communication, they spent time at school bringing those recipes to life and then learnt how to present the cooked meal with the help of their teachers.

"They learnt heaps, but most importantly they gained the confidence to be able to communicate well."

Newman said the idea of a bake-off competition gained momentum during the Covid-19 lockdown in August when one of the big things the kids were doing was cooking at home with their parents.

"We were putting up the pictures and videos on Facebook, and some of the recipes were just 'wow'.

"So we all thought it was just too good to be true, we should really run a cooking competition and get the kids to come through and present their skills.

"We started giving them challenges - one week they were asked to use Weet-Bix in the recipe. One of the kids came up with fritters using Weet-Bix instead of breadcrumbs, and it really turned out great and crispy. We wanted the kids to continue doing this and work with their parents."

Hora Hora Primary School staff Matilda Watts, Barbara Mahon, Pat Newman and Janice Taylor have a hard time deciding the winner of the bake-off competition. Photo / Tania Whyte

Hora Hora school teacher Janice Taylor organised the competition and set the rules. Other teachers were involved for each class and staff members Matilda Watts and Barbara Mahon sat on the judges' panel along with Newman and Taylor.

Newman wished to make it a bigger competition next year with many more kids.

The school gifted a $100 voucher to the winner, while $50 and $20 vouchers went to the second and third prize winners respectively.

Newman said the students' imagination was superb and was reflected in the way they cooked and presented.

"Our kids have been through hell this year and this is just a nice, light way of learning skills."