A budding teenage chef from Melksham showcased his culinary talents with a cooking demonstration to a crowd of over 100 people at the Foodies Festival in Bath earlier this month. William Watters, 14, made ‘apple crumble waffle,’ a recipe he created by taking inspiration from other chefs he has met and worked with.
William gave two demonstrations in the cake and dessert theatre and also helped chef Thomas Leatherbarrow on stage with his demonstration during the festival.
“I had a fantastic time and both the crowds from my demo were amazing,” said William. “It was brilliant to hear that everyone enjoyed my creation and were amazed at the end product and how well apple crumble with a waffle worked.”
In preparation for his appearance, he worked with the head chef at The Beckford Bottle Shop in Bath where they brainstormed ideas for William’s dish.
William, who is a Year 9 student at Melksham Oak Community School, has also met TV chefs such as Phil Vickery, James Martin and MasterChef the Professionals winner Alex Webb. He has also had work experience at Sign of the Angel in Lacock, working under the head chef, prepping and serving up meals.
“William enjoys the aspect of creating new things out of his mind and being creative when writing recipes. He also loves putting a smile on people’s faces through food,” said William’s mum Sharon Watters.
William also wants to create a cookbook for beginners to raise funds for Heart Heroes, a charity that helps children and families with heart conditions because he has a congenital heart condition called Tetralogy of Fallot.
Sharon said, “William has started a GofundMe page to get the project started and he will be donating £1 from every book to the charity.”
Next year, William plans to study food technology and nutrition as one of his GCSEs. He also wants to do more cooking demonstrations and get work experience working in top restaurants alongside experienced chefs.
To follow William’s cooking journey, you can see more on his on Instagram page ‘williamtheminichef’ or Facebook, ‘cosmic cooking.’
William will be doing his next demonstration at Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival on Sunday 23rd June.
