Interview: Eilidh Stewart, schoolgirl

The gastronomic alchemist is the hero of the 17-year-old Inverness schoolgirl, who is in line to win a £30,000 scholarship at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu cook school in the heart of London's West End. If she beats off the other six contestants in the final cook-off, not only will she start a coveted nine-month course in which she will be immersed in the foundations of French gastronomy, but she will also win a work placement with Tom Aikens, Britain's youngest chef to win two Michelin stars.

“I entered it because this is the career path I want to go down and I know that Le Cordon Bleu cook school is the best place to train. It goes back to 1895, and their quality is extremely high. They give a classic French, technically exact training. I want to start by being classically trained, then go down the gastronomic route."

It was Stewart's video of herself cooking and introducing her part of the world to the judging panel that won her a place in the final.

“I opened with the Cairngorms in the background, then I was on the banks of the Spey with a fishing rod and a salmon, showcasing what we have in this part of the world, with venison and fish. Then I cooked salmon and saffron risotto so they could see who I am and what I can do.”

Culinary experimentation was always encouraged in the Stewart household by mother Rhona and father Alistair, and Stewart remembers childhood cook-offs with her brother Roddy. His signature dish of Thai prawn soup with chillies, which he neglected to remove the seeds from, left everyone reeling, while she won the day with a marinaded tuna steak in soy sauce and parsley – not bad for an 11-year-old. Well, she had been cooking her own omelettes from the age of eight and tried snails in France when she was ten.

“I want to be the next Heston, create a new food movement and play around with techniques like he does. He hasn't got any limits, and that's the way it should be. You should always be seeking the next new thing," she says.

“I want to immerse myself in it, learn all the terms and techniques. I'm obsessed with everything about food. I was born to cook and have no option. I also love maths, science, history and art too, and these are all mixed in with cooking, from the presentation to the science behind how it works. I don't want to do conventional cooking. I want it to be out there."

Another of Stewart's heroes is Wylie Dufresne, whose Manhattan eaterie, WD-50, has fans booking weeks in advance to dine. “He's American and he looks like he's a mental case, but he's an amazing cook. I'd love to eat there."

In the interests of educating her palette, Stewart took the opportunity to eat in one of Aikens’ London restaurants when she went down for the semi-final round of the competition.

“It was brilliant and made me even keener to win. Unfortunately my passion for food has made me a bit of a fussy eater and a nightmare when we eat out now that my palette’s maturing. I can't help it. I made roe deer with broccoli purée for Christmas dinner for my family, but I don't have a signature dish yet as I'm too young and I love trying out new things.”

With results of the competition being announced on 7 February, after the cook-off in the morning, Stewart, who is the only Scottish finalist, will find out on the day if she has been successful.

“I'm really, really nervous because it means so much, but I'm confident. I think positively and imagine myself there, because that way the energy follows you. If I don’t win I will still follow my dream and find another school,” she says.

A positive attitude has already paid off for Stewart, after she decided to contact Charlie Lockley, the Michelin-starred chef at Boath House in Auldearn, near Nairn, and landed a stint doing work experience in his kitchen.

“There's no harm in asking and I'm really keen. If you sit around waiting for other people, nothing happens. You have got to go out and do it yourself.”

The final of Le Cordon Bleu UK Scholarship Award 2011 takes place on 7 February