Catherine Young, 16, from Clackmannanshire in Scotland, was crowned the winner of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) #ISeeMore competition, in partnership with Mondelēz International.
Her space-themed entry, named ‘Rocket Fuel’, included a mix of moulds, shapes, textures and techniques of food engineering. The concept included popping candy, marshmallows, milky moons and crunchy crater biscuits all encased in a Cadbury Dairy Milk futuristic rocket-shaped mould.
Inspire young engineers
The #ISeeMore competition was launched to inspire the next generation of engineers.
There is currently a shortage of engineers in the UK and it is estimated that 2M jobs in the sector need to be filled by 2020.
The competition was judged by former Great British Bake Off contestant and aerospace engineer Andrew Smyth alongside Mondelēz International engineer Emma Mcleod and Nigel Fine, chief executive of the IET.
Young said: “I was so excited when I saw the competition. I’ve always been curious about the world and I like to think about the engineering that actually makes things possible. I love chocolate and had loads of fun coming up with my idea. Meeting the engineers today and visiting the chocolate factory is something I’ll never forget.”
Fine said that IET had received hundreds of entries for the competition, which “captured the imagination of budding young engineers”.
Creative, yet commercial
“Catherine’s entry really stood out for its creativity and the ability for it to be commercialised. She had really thought through how to engineer the bar in real life. We hope this competition has inspired a host of young people to think about engineering as a future career,” he said.
McLeod said that the standard of competition entries was “incredibly high”.
She added that Young had considered how to make the product “exciting to look at, enjoyable to eat and interesting to create”.