PubChef Awards - Food From Britain
In our final awards category report, Food From Britain challenged pub chefs to create dishes using produce sourced from their pub's local region. PubChef reports.
Using local produce on your pub's menu makes good commercial sense, offers your pub a point of difference and helps attract food tourism. Our Food From Britain category, sponsored by the marketing and development agency for British food and drink producers Food From Britain, asks pub chefs to create a main-course dish from locally-sourced produce. Within this category, judges were looking for evidence that chefs were particularly committed to using local suppliers, as well as British produce.
Research by Food From Britain shows that more than 70% of consumers now express a desire to buy local food. Our chefs had one hour and 15 minutes to create a main course. No pre-prepared ingredients were allowed. Judges included: food writer Hattie Ellis, author of Eating England and Best of British Fish; Steve Schaffer, catering development manager of Punch Taverns; Andrew Wilson, catering development manager of Shepherd Neame; Mike Tuckwood, representing the Craft Guild of Chefs, and Jane Wakeling of category sponsor Food From Britain.
For more information on sourcing local produce visit www.regionalfoodanddrink.co.uk
Chefs
Chef: Kim Champion, chef/landlady Pub: The Portland Arms, St Albans, Hertfordshire Dish: Aged sirloin of beef with an aubergine and walnut stuffing, resting on a bed of chard, courgette and beetroot finished with a red wine reduction Menu price: £12.95 Cost of ingredients: £5.18 Why this dish?: "I really wanted to showcase Hedges Farm, my local meat supplier, because we're really proud of our association with them. It was also featured on BBC London in a programme encouraging viewers to buy local produce." Background: "Every Saturday, a vegetable supplier comes into Hedges to sell his produce and I always order from him. He lets me know what's in season and [what] is particularly good. I'm proud to be using British produce."
Chef: Sean Peck, head chef Pub: Kirkstile Inn, Cockermouth, Cumbria Dish: Loweswater smoked duck breast on a bed of herb noodles, with a damson gin chutney and a garnish of Cumberland air-cured ham and parsnip Menu price: £10.50 Cost of ingredients: £3.50 Why this dish?: "The herb noodles are an alternative carbohydrate to potatoes and I create them from scratch. I wanted to be a little different. The flavour of the damson gin chutney sweetens the dish a little and complements the noodles." Background: "Over 60% of our produce is from local suppliers," says Sean. He feels very strongly about using local produce, but sometimes finds it difficult for local farmers to be able to meet supply and demand. "Although there's a strong farming community, more businesses need to get involved," advises Sean.
Chef: Andrew Bruce, head chef Pub: The Rose & Crown, Snettisham, Norfolk Dish: Roast dry Norfolk duck breast, Jonagold apple tart, autumn cabbage, Norfolk carrots Menu price: £12.75 Cost of ingredients: £3.55 Why this dish?: "I like duck and it's supplied locally. There's a farm shop down the road that I visit three to four times a week to buy my vegetables. I also get vegetables delivered fresh every morning from Accent Fresh in Downham Market. I want to support local farms and producers in Norfolk." Background: Andrew says customers expect quality and fresh produce from local suppliers. He feels the trend towards organic and fresh started around 20 years ago, but has been particularly driven in the last 10 years by celebrity chefs and cooking programmes.
Chef: Andrew Doree, landlord/chef Pub: The Royal Oak, South Brent, Devon Dish: Breast of English duck on a bed of crispy fried cabbage with a port and orange reduction Menu price: £12.50 Cost of ingredients: £3.55 Why this dish?: "It's a twist on Chinese crispy duck using British produce. The duck is supplied by Langworth Butchers in South Brent. The cabbage is a spin on Chinese-fried seaweed. The Mediterranean influence of the oranges and port also goes well with the cabbage and the duck." Background: The menu changes weekly and Andrew buys in as much local vegetable produce from Cornish Farm Produce as he can. His duck is supplied by Elston Farm, and for everything else, he uses local butcher Neil Langworthy. He says that the quality of West Country food is very high and it's not that expensive. Andrew believes that customers are prepared to pay for quality.
Chef: Mark Levy, chef Pub: The Russell, Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire Dish: Roast Aylesbury duck breast, savoury crumble and Turville plums Menu price: £12.75 Cost of ingredients: £3.25 Why this dish?: "It's a great dish for winter. It's cosy, warm and everything is in season. It all works well together." Background: Mark has been working with the pub for six months but is struggling to find local suppliers and wants to establish a network. He's even put up signs in the pub such as: "We want your spuds". He's found someone who owns an allotment and gets in all kinds of weird samples. He uses Chiltern Farm where he picks up around 20% of his meat and uses local man Derek Pigget of Pigget Fruit & Veg to meet the rest of his fruit and veg requirements.
The judges' verdicts on the finalists:
Kim Champion: "Tremendous presentation. Good efficient worker who cares about her ingredients. Amazing sauce. Vegetables cooked to perfection."
Sean Peck: "Fantastic ingredients. Good provenance. Courageous to make his own noodles and it was impressive that he'd smoked his own duck."
Andrew Bruce: "Great tasting duck. Cooking it off the bone was a nice touch. He worked efficiently. Excellent knowledge of ingredients."
Andrew Doree: "Very studious in his working practices. Great ingredients, he obviously knew his suppliers well. He was precise and calm."
Mark Levy: "Clean worker. Very methodical. His crumble was truly interesting. Lovely autumnal plums gave off a vivid colour."
The winnerAndrew Bruce, head chef of the Rose & Crown in Snettisham, Norfolk, was the winner of the Food From Britain category with his dish of roast dry Norfolk duck breast, Jonagold apple tart, autumn cabbage, and Norfolk bunched carrots. After spending 16 years working in London restaurants, Andrew decided to move away from the bustle two years ago in favour of the Norfolk countryside and has been working as head chef of the Rose and Crown since May.
He previously worked at the Gin Trap Inn, in Ringstead, Norfolk. He loves the freedom of working in a pub kitchen: "The menu is seasonal with dishes to suit everyone from kids to pensioners." The duck used in his dish is free-range and is supplied by R&J Poultry of King's Lynn. The Jonagold apples come from Accent Fresh in Downham Market and the autumn cabbage and carrots come from Ken Hill, the local greengrocers in Snettisham. Food sales account for 40% of turnover at the pub. In summer, trade reaches 2,000 covers a week, while in winter, it averages 500 to 600.
