Springboard Programme: Springboard FutureChef

Region: Liverpool

Year: 2023

Diana moved to the UK from Ukraine in early 2022 with a passion for cooking. Growing up, Diana would help her mum in the kitchen, and this developed into a real curiosity to grow her skills. Diana enrolled in Ormskirk School in North-East England where she started Food and Nutrition lessons. Diana credits her teacher, Mrs Wiggins, for encouraging her to take part in the FutureChef Competition.

Here’s what Diana had to say about taking part:

“When my mentor chef, my teacher and me were preparing for the final it was very exciting, I felt full of emotions. I had a lot of lessons with my mentor chef, James Holden, and I found them really interesting. He would tell me I’m “already a winner” which made me really happy. I struggled with the lessons at first, but I tried my best, and I always had a lot of support from my teacher and mentor chef.

I am really grateful to have had this experience at my age, it’s helped me choose my future profession and let me keep doing this work that I love so much. FutureChef helped me to see the pros and cons of becoming a chef. It’s a difficult job and takes a lot of effort and patience, but for me it’s worth it.

I was so happy to win my prize, I’ve never had an experience like that before. Being able to attend a football was a dream come true, and I could never have imagined I’d be cooking for a team of famous chefs!

For anyone thinking about taking part in FutureChef, I would say to always be confident and believe in your abilities. Remember you aren’t alone and have support available. Just keep practicing your techniques and you will succeed!”