Cookery Competition Presentation Evening:

It was student chefs and waiters who were the stars at a Rotary Gala Dinner
at the Conrad hotel.  The students from Escola Dra Laura Ayres in Quarteira and Escola EB 2/3 Dr Antonio de Sousa Agostinho in Almancil were this year’s finalists of the Annual Rotary Cookery Competition. The 2014/15 competition was organised jointly by Peter Hinze of Almancil International Rotary Club and Alan Winn of the Silves Rotary Club. The competition started last November and 12 volunteer judges ate a total of 28 meals.  The final was held at The Conrad Hotel in April with the finalists preparing their meals in the Conrad’s own kitchen with ingredients kindly donated by the hotel.  “It was very close this year” said Alan Winn “but we had to make a decision and declared the team chosen from the Quarteira school the winners with the Almancil team coming a close second”. The winning team received their trophy at the Gala dinner with personalised aprons presented to both teams. Accompanied by some of their teachers and families and attended by more than 80 Rotarians and guests, it was plain to see how proud they were.

Marta Castanheiro holds the trophy for the winning school with Peter Hinze
and Alan Winn.

Our compares

Four hundred guests gathered at the Cultural Centre in Pêra to celebrate the films and artwork of the pupils of Agrupamento de Escolas de SilvesSul. It was a night of glamour and celebration as the nominees walked the red carpet and wondered whether it was to be their night. The nominees, their parents and friends were joined by Kirsty Hayes, the British Ambassador to Portugal, Clive Jewel, British Vice Consul, Rosa Palma, Mayor of Silves and Rotarians from across the Algarve to celebrate their achievements. Escolas de SilvesSul and Wildern School from the UK have worked in partnership to develop this event which is modelled on a similar ceremony at Wildern School. Six pupils from Wildern School and two teachers joined the pupils of Escolas de SilvesSul on the red carpet. Sixty films, Forty pieces of artwork and photographs were submitted for the Oscars. Fifty were nominated across nine categories from Best Short Film, Best International Film, Best Primary School Film through to Best Artwork and Photography. To whoops of delight from the pupils of SilvesSul, the winners were drawn from the gold envelopes. The judges presented the Oscars and prizes to the winners who gave a short thank you speech. The event was supported by Silves Rotary Club and we would like to thank all those who have raised funds throughout the past year to help support this project. We would also like to thank Projection Dreams for their sponsorship and Wildern School for their help and experience. Pupils from the Algarve and the UK have formed strong friendships and look forward to meeting again in July at the Wildern Oscars. Press Reports TV Coverage