CELEBRITY chef Peter Gorton enjoyed a taste of autumn when he judged the apple pie competition at St Andrew?s Primary School in Buckland Monachorum on Friday. The competition was first held four years ago, when 12 pies were entered. Last year entries were up to 54, and this year there were 63 pies for the chef to savour and judge. Fellow adjudicator was Celia Steven, great granddaughter of Henry Merryweather, who introduced the Bramley apple to the UK. Ms Steven donated a Bramley apple tree to the school in 1999 and organised events to raise funds for a further 30 Tamar variety apple trees and three cherry trees for the community orchard. The apple trees produced their first crop this year and the apples were on display in the school hall, before being crushed in the afternoon by the children. Ms Steven said looking after the orchard taught the children about self-sustainability and bio-diversity. Parents liked the apple pie competition because it was something the whole family could do together. Masterchef Peter Gorton, who also handed out the prizes, has a daughter at St Andrew?s and is a familiar face at the school. He said he enjoyed cooking with children ? the potential to learn and have fun was huge and it was great to see how proud the children were of what they had produced.
