DALRY Primary has the coolest young cooks in Ayrshire – officially.

A team from the North Ayrshire school whipped up the winner in an Ayrshire-wide competition to find the tastiest of ice cream dishes.

All primary schools in the area were invited to enter the Great Scottish Frozen Dessert Competition which was organised as part of a project to promote engineering and science learning.

Dalry’s winning trio were Primary 5 pupils Emmie Wilson, Emily Cooper and Kerry Ternant Their tasty VanChoc Glitter creation went down a treat with the judges at the all-Ayrshire final last Wednesday.

The girls’ teacher, Mrs Lesley Taylor, said: “I am so proud of them. This was all their own work.

“Winning this competition is a special honour for Dalry Primary.” The youngsters maintain their recipe is a closely-guarded secret but would only confirm that the main ingredients are Madagascar vanilla yogurt, Ghanaian choc chips and edible golden glitter.

A team of experts had to assess the culinary skills of 12 schools at the event in Dumfries House in Cumnock.

It was day of further celebration for North Ayrshire when the third place prizewinners were confirmed as Abbey Primary in Kilwinning.

The two winning North Ayrshire schools had qualified for the final along with two others at an earlier heat of the event in Dreghorn.

The two other schools were Loudoun Montgomery Primary and Towerlands Primary, both in Irvine.

Dalry Primary received £100 and a trophy while Abbey received £25.

The judges were Howard Wilkinson of the Ayrshire Food Network and chefs Darren Blunden and Adam McKissock of Dumfries House.

Speaking at the event on Ayrshire produce were Colin Burns of Taste of Ayrshire and Jill Woodburn of Ayrshire Glen – home of Woody’s ice cream.

North Ayrshire Councillor John Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education, Attainment and Achievement, said: “I must congratulate Dalry Primary for coming out on top in a competition involving so many youngsters from all over Ayrshire.

“This is the kind of competition we are eager to promote in North Ayrshire because it gives young people a greater understanding of subjects like science and engineering.

“We have acknowledged that the way to get young people into work is to prepare them with the right skills and knowledge for the industries of today and tomorrow.

“The dessert competition is an exercise which encourages youngsters to participate and learn while having fun at the same time.

“In my day the kids wouldn’t have believed what they were hearing if they were asked to spend the day experimenting with ice cream!”