Girls from Breage Brownies near Helston were competition finalists at a Girlguiding festival of foodie fun Exeter’s Westpoint Arena.

They competed with hundreds of other Brownies in a Masterchef-style competition. Freya Chudley and Sophia Hallett were among 2,000 others at Cookafest, an event aiming to introduce girls as young as five to a world of culinary creation and fun. Their creation a homemade-from-scratch pizza, put them in the running for a top prize in the competition.

The girls and their unit, Breage Brownies, joined the gathering of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, the Senior Section, leaders and Trefoil Guild at the event organised by Girlguiding South West England.

Cookafest filled the huge space at the Westpoint Arena with full-scale kitchens, chef demonstration areas, bakery, an outdoor bank of barbecues and even a giant chocolate fountain. Girls aged five and up could try their hand at stirring, dicing and drizzling – and then stretch their legs outside on three climbing walls, bungee trampolines and zorbing.

Solange Rebours, head volunteer for Girlguiding in the south west of England, said: “Cookafest is a fantastic chance for girls to learn more about food, cooking and healthy eating. Across the South West they have enjoyed cooking and creating new dishes, sometimes for the first time. The foodie festival today was a fantastic celebration of this.”