Two Whanganui Girls' College students are cooking up a storm ahead of the UCOL secondary schools' culinary competition.
Libby Young and Alyse Price, both Year 13 students, will create a dish in front of the judging panel at UCOL Palmerston North, on June 12.
And they're putting in long hours in the kitchen to test their recipies, with the help of Girls' College food and hospitality teacher Nina Barbezat, and Phil Healy, a local chef and member of the New Zealand Chefs Association.
All contestants must include certain ingredients in their dish: bone-in chicken thigh, two vegetables, a risotto and a garnish and/or sauce.
Libby is making grilled rosemary chicken with a bacon and leek risotto and sauteed spinach and rosemary creme; while Alyse's dish is grilled citrus chicken with an apricot risotto and green bean salad.