Whitbread student chef wins Design a Dish final

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Young pub chefs have been showing off their skills and creativity in an attempt to win a trip to New Orleans.Eight student chefs from Whitbread...

Young pub chefs have been showing off their skills and creativity in an attempt to win a trip to New Orleans.

Eight student chefs from Whitbread brands Beefeater, Out & Out, Brewers Fayre, Brewsters and TGI Friday's took part in the final of the hotly-contested Design a Dish competition.

The chefs are all enrolled on the company's award-winning Modern Apprenticeship programme.

The winner was 19-year-old Jonathan Brady, who works at TGI Friday's in Birmingham and studies at the city's College of Food.

He created a dish of herbed chicken breast, Portobello mushroom and tarragon risotto, rocket and a roast capsicum sauce.

Jonathan won an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans which will include a tour of the city and a three-day placement at Peristyle restaurant.

Runners-up Andrew Jarrat and Ryan Wood each won a special dinner at the Chef's Table at the Connaught cooked by top chef Angela Hartnett.

The eight finalists had won through regional heats before being subjected to a grilling from a panel of industry judges, including Guy Beardsmore, Whitbread's senior development chef, at the final last week.

The students received their awards from Whitbread Restaurants' managing director Bill Shannon.

Whitbread's Modern Apprenticeship programme, which was recently given a Springboard Award for Excellence, is in its third year. It is aimed at school leavers and under-24s and designed to attract young people into the hospitality industry.

The programme is run with 31 colleges across the country.

Students work for four days every week and spend one day in college. They are paid and have their college fees paid for.

The other finalists

  • Andrew Jarrat:​ From La Reserve Beefeater and Birmingham College of Food created saltimbocca of salmon, bell peppers and sage with fettucine, spiced tomato and a fennel and olive sauce.
  • Tom Jeffrey:​ From Leeds Marriot Hotel and Thomas Danby College created salmon and mixed herb caramella with a gateau of legumes de Provence, surrounded by a cooked tomato coulis.
  • Barry Langston:​ From Glegg Arms Out & Out and Liverpool Community College created chargrilled garlic chicken served with roasted vegetables and white wine sauce.
  • Ricky Pollard:​ From Ashley Hotel Brewers Fayre and New College, Nottingham, created sauté of chicken with pimento.
  • Simon Robinson:​ From Glegg Arms Out & Out and Liverpool Community College created grilled salmon on a leek mash with a lemon and tarragon sauce.
  • Stephen Smyth:​ From the Grove Beefeater and College Glan Hafren, Cardiff, created crispy salmon with roasted vegetable paella
  • Ryan Wood:​ From the Marriott Hotel, County Hall, London, and Westminster Kingsway College, created roasted chicken supreme with fettucine ratatouille with a fine herb cream sauce.

Pictured top, winner Jonathan Brady with Whitbread's Bill Shannon, and bottom, the winning dish.

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