Chocolate bar of the future designed by Scotish 16 year old

Posted By : Anna Flockett
Chocolate bar of the future designed by Scotish 16 year old

 

Everyone shares a love for chocolate, so imagine creating your own? Well a British teenager has won a money can’t buy opportunity to see her chocolate bar invention being brought to life in Bournville, home of Cadbury at the Mondelez International Global Chocolate Centre of Excellence.

Born in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, 16-year-old Catherine Young has been crowned the winner of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) #ISeeMore competition, in partnership with Mondelēz International, the UK’s largest branded food manufacturer.

Beating hundreds of applicants, Catherine’s out of this world space themed entry, named ‘Rocket Fuel’, includes a mix of moulds, shapes, textures and techniques of food engineering with delicious ingredients to create something truly impressive. The creative concept includes popping candy, marshmallows, milky moons and crunchy crater biscuits all encased in a smooth Cadbury Dairy Milk futuristic rocket-shaped mould.

The #ISeeMore competition aims to inspire the next generation of engineers by demonstrating how exciting, diverse and creative a career in engineering can be, through the medium of chocolate. The competition encourages young people to literally ‘See More’ through uncovering the role of engineering in brands and items that feature heavily in their day-to-day lives.

The competition was judged by former Great British Bake Off (GBBO) contestant and aerospace engineer Andrew Smyth alongside Mondelēz International engineer Emma Mcleod who has been instrumental in creating some of the nation’s most loved chocolate bars and Nigel Fine, Chief Executive of the IET.

Commenting on winning the competition, Catherine 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.”

There is currently a serious shortage of engineers in the UK and it’s estimated that two million jobs in engineering need to be filled by 2020, but despite engineering generating £1 in every £4 of the UK’s GDP, there is a severe lack of understanding about the industry among the general public.

Nigel Fine, Chief Executive of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, said: “We received hundreds of entries to the #ISeeMore competition, which captured the imagination of budding young engineers. 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.”

Andrew Smyth, who combined his love of baking, invention and engineering during his GBBO appearance last year, said: “There are no limits to a child’s imagination, but it’s rarely brought to life in front of their eyes. I was delighted to judge this competition - the calibre and creativity was fantastic. Catherine is a worthy winner because she really delved in to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ behind food engineering, from flavours to shape and even the packaging design.”

Emma McLeod, Research Principal for Process Technology at Mondelēz International, said: “The standard of the competition entries was incredibly high – it was really difficult to whittle them down. Catherine had clearly considered how to make the product exciting to look at, enjoyable to eat and interesting to create – a great example of how exciting food and drink engineering can be. The drawings and description of the rocket really impressed me both as a chocolate lover and an engineer.”


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