A TALENTED young chef has claimed a silver medal as she competed against some of the biggest names in UK catering to create Britain’s best dessert.

Claudia Cozariuc contested the Association of Pastry Chefs Dessert of the Year finals and emerged from a competition featuring ten top pastry chefs – all industry professionals – with a silver medal.

The second-year HND Professional Cookery student was delighted to outperform industry professionals to gain the award, which she received shortly before accepting the offer of beginning full-time employment at Edinburgh’s prestigious Balmoral Hotel from June, when she graduates from City of Glasgow College.

The Evening Times told of Claudia's success as she prepared to travel to London to compete in the prestigious challenge.

She said: "The competition was tough, really hard, but I was organised and felt confident.

“I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to competing again next year. Second place is good but I’d like to go one better.”

Claudia, 27, was the only entrant enrolled in full-time education.

She was mentored by Kenneth Hett for the competition, which saw competitors tasked with producing two plated desserts in less than two hours.

Claudia arrived in Scotland from her native Romania five years ago with little English and has advanced through courses at City of Glasgow College to become proficient in the language and a bright prospect as a chef.

This most recent accolade is the latest in a long line of successes in the last 12 months, following a gold medal at The Skills Show in Birmingham, part of the WorldSkills competition, and a silver and bronze at the ScotHot competition at the SECC last year.

She added: “The level of competition at the Association of Pastry Chefs Dessert of the Year is even higher than WorldSkills, as you are competing against industry professionals who have years of experience. "It’s maybe natural to feel a bit nervous because I was competing against the best pastry chefs in the UK but I felt confident and hopeful.

“This award is great for my CV, as is the experience I’ve gained studying at City of Glasgow College working under great people such as Willie McCurrach, Curriculum Head for Food, and Kenneth Hett.

"The course has been tough but very rewarding, and the staff and my fellow students have been so supportive.”

Kenneth Hett, Senior Lecturer at City of Glasgow College, was impressed by Claudia’s performance in competition.

He said: “Claudia has achieved a number of amazing results this year.

"To compete against some of the best pastry chefs in Britain at the UK’s premier pastry competition is testimony to her dedication and hard work.”