Author: Ashleigh Fielding

A GROUP of home economics students from Great Southern Grammar have been crowned state champions in this year’s McCormick Flavour Forecast Recipe Challenge.

The students also placed second nationwide with their dishes.

The Challenge saw students tasked with creating three dishes based on strict criteria that address predicted food trends.

This year’s competition was all about “Need for Seed” and “Mexicana Vegana” and using ingredients such as basil seeds, lotus seeds, jackfruit and tempeh.

Year 10 student Jonte Eastough was part of the team that created savoury brioche tartlets with fennel seed oil, basil seed vegetable mousse cones and lamb duo with roasted cumin seeds.

Daniel Cosh looked after the jackfruit when his team created the vegan loaded jackfruit nachos and Jasmine Butterworth sorted the ice-cream for the churros tropical mousse cup dish embellished with spice.

The trio agreed the challenge was difficult, but it taught them valuable lessons.

“I could only cook sausages before but now I can cook more,” Jonte said.

“It was pretty nerve-wracking waiting for the result but we really enjoyed participating,” Jasmine added.

Teacher Teresa McAllister was proud of her students.

“It’s a very challenging and involved task,” she said.

“They did it all over eight lessons – ordering the food, designing it, making it, thinking about what it would look like in a photo – and they had to write a comprehensive justification as to why they did what they did.”

The judges said it was inspirational to see how the students used curriculum design processes to come up with innovative use of the set ingredients, particularly as some students had never heard of the ingredients before.

“Students really excelled and exceeded all expectations for their age group,” they said.

“Some stunning thinking and creativity went into their entries … it was clear students used active reflection and evaluation at each stage of the process and acted on these to amend their recipe and presentation to come up with stunning results.”

The students’ prize was $500 worth of spices and $1500 worth of Tupperware for their hospitality classes.

MICE will be the main attraction at a fundraiser this weekend at Kendenup Country Club.

The Kendenup Cup will take place on Saturday and see mice race in a similar style as horses do at the Melbourne Cup.

The racecourse is a bit smaller than Flemington though, taking place in a box on a wall.

Jacqui Burcham explained.

“We get mice from a breeder and they run six races in a big box,” she said.

“The mice are auctioned off, so people ‘own’ a mouse for a specific race and collect the winnings if their mouse wins.

“Everyone else can bet on any mouse and all the money goes into the Country Club.”

She said the event, held annually since 2012, was popular among the locals and got the whole family involved.

“We have a snail race for the kids,” Ms Burcham said.

“And this year, we are trialling a new species to race in the box used for the mouse races … some people are sceptical, but we are going to give it a go.”

There will be prizes for best dressed, raffles, and food and drink available for purchase.

The money raised will go towards replacing some of the Country Club’s carpet and for general maintenance.

“It’s fun, unique and everyone has a laugh,” Ms Burcham said.

“The main thing people like is having fun and being with their friends.”

Ms Burcham suggested large groups wanting a table together to call ahead to book a table, by calling 0433 452 528 or 0459 514 091.

Doors open at 6.30pm and races will commence between 7pm and 7.30pm.

COLIN and Anne Buckingham’s front garden at 4 Shapcott Street in Bayonet Head is an ever-evolving spectacle.

Since first purchasing the then four-year-old property in 1987, their half-acre lot has cycled through housing hundreds of shrubs, fruit trees and other unique plants.

The Albany couple last week had their decades of toil recognised when they received the Best Private Garden award at the annual Keep Albany Beautiful showcase.

“We were gobsmacked. We know it’s a good garden but we didn’t think it would be a winner,” Mr Buckingham said.

“But we did meet the criteria which was to try hard and develop the verge right down to the road so it presents well.”

Scattered around the lawn and near the road verge, clusters of recently pruned roses, azaleas, agapanthus, camellias and deciduous trees add colour and flair to the large property.

While Mr Buckingham is mostly responsible for the “bigger, heavier stuff” like planting, lawn maintenance and pruning, Ms Buckingham works to maintain the neat “details” of the garden through weeding and spraying.

“It’s a release, you get out there and it calms you down,” Ms Buckingham said.

“It’s an enjoyment to see the beautiful plants flourishing. My roses now are just about to come out in their first flush.”

The Buckinghams topped the list of a total 23 residential gardens nominated for last Wednesday’s ceremony.

A garden at 7 Callistemon View in Yakamia took home the Best Water Wise Garden award over 12 others, while Amity Village RAAFA won the Best Commercial Garden award and Great Southern Grammar claimed the prize for Best School Garden.

Keep Albany Beautiful President Lynley Harrison and the Buckinghams thanked the event’s sponsors and coordinators, including Keep Albany Beautiful founder Alice Rule.

CREATING a literal “vehicle for change” was the task set to a group of Albany secondary students this year.

The aim was to spread the word about road safety as well as educate themselves about the dangers of combining driving with alcohol, drugs, texting and speeding.

As a result, two full-size cars were painted with a variety of graphics and words by North Albany Senior High School (NASHS) and Alta-1 College students and they are now on display for public viewing – one at Albany Marina and the other at Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre.

Palmerston Aboriginal Prevention Officer Thomas Dimer said the project had been a success.

“It’s really good to see other young people talking about the cars and what they are for and sharing the messages,” he said.

“It’s a different, colourful way to get road safety messages across and I think it’s very important for the rest of the community to see that our young people are aware of these issues.”

Artist Kiya Watt helped students paint the cars and said she was proud to have taken part.

“Working with the Indigenous girls at NASHS was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” she said.

“Not only was the workshop about culture and empowerment, it was about road safety and drink driving, and the girls really took control and captured that message.

“Projects like these are more impactful than having them sit and listen for hours, so we let them tell us their stories and they painted the messages they wanted on the car, giving them that sense of ownership.”