Pupils from Pembrokeshire were among close to a thousand school students from across south-west Wales that took part in a competition recently aimed at promoting careers within the food sector.

The Tasty Careers Schools Challenge is a National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (NSAFD) Wales initiative, organised in partnership with Careers Wales, Castell Howell Foods and hospitality group Seren, encouraging groups of year nine pupils to become entrepreneurs for the day.

Participating students from 14 schools across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, and Swansea produced a starter, main or dessert using as many Welsh ingredients as possible and at a maximum cost of £7.

The winning group, from Ysgol Bro Dinefwr, blew the judges away at the grand final on 28 March at Parc Y Scarlets in Llanelli.

Their winning dish of apple and Welsh cake crumble with Bara Brith ice cream won them a meal at Michelin star restaurant, the Beach House in Oxwich.

The challenge aims to signpost individuals to careers in the food sector, help nurture valuable business skills and demonstrate the range of career opportunities that are available in an exciting, fast-paced industry.

Preliminary stages are held at schools across the area and are judged by organisations local to them.

Following a preliminary round at Maes Y Gwendraeth, the representatives from judging body, the National Botanic Garden of Wales, were so impressed that they agreed to sell each dish from the six groups for one week during the summer holidays.

Aled Evans, a business engagement adviser at Careers Wales, said: “It was a delight to see the level of talent and enthusiasm at the Tasty Careers Challenge this year.

“The event not only provides a chance to increase pupils’ understanding of the industry and develop related skills, but also broadens their aspirations.

“This is a fantastic example of how we can empower pupils with immersive and engaging careers learning through partnership working.”

Edward Morgan, group CSR and training manager at Castell Howell, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in this successful challenge, helping to promote excellent career opportunities within the food sector.

“This challenge is evidence that food can be central to numerous disciplines, aligning well with the new curriculum in Wales. We look forward to its continued growth to 2024 and beyond.”

Owner and Director of Seren, Neil Kedward, said: “It’s a real pleasure for our directors to get involved and coach some of the school teams.

“The quality of this year’s final and the great feedback from the participating schools underlines to me the importance of events like the Tasty Challenge in bringing together schools and local businesses to build high quality individual and team learning experiences.

“This business planning challenge built around the universal language of food was clearly inspiring to all!”

Visit the Tasty Careers website to find out more. For information relating to careers support and guidance, head to Careers Wales.