Chefs do battle as PubChef Food Excellence Awards reach cook-off stage
Pub chefs from all over the UK battled it out in the first cook-off finals of the PubChef Food Excellence Awards chefs' competition this week.
Tensions were high as the finalists in the first seven of 12 categories took to the stoves at the Meat and Livestock Com-mission in Milton Keynes to show off their skills.
Three finalists made it through to the cook-off stages of each category after a paper judging. The winner of each will be in with a chance of taking the coveted title of Pub Chef of the Year 2007.
But it will be a nail-biting wait for everyone involved as all the winners will be announced at the very first PubChef Food Excellence Awards evening at the Dorchester in London on 30 January.
The five other finals - team, pub classics, Mediterranean, poultry and desserts - will take place in mid-November. l See the 16 November edition of the MA for details of the other finalists.
finalists:
Young Pub Chef of the Year 2007
Sam Sanderson, New Holly, Forton, Nr Preston, Lancashire
Lamb rump with ratatouille and cumin mashed potato
Lee Goodman, the Williams Arms, Wrafton, Braunton, north Devon
Beef olives in a beer sauce with broad bean pudding and local organic crusty cream mash
Jamie Clarke, the Rose & Crown, Snettisham, Norfolk
Ravioli of brown Norfolk shrimp and seabass, Brancaster mussels, grilled flat bread
Eastern Cuisine Pub Chef of the Year 2007
Matthew Curmi, Rising Sun Thai Tavern, Poole, Dorset
Fresh pasta ravioli with a creamy aromatic duck filling and Thai pesto
Ian Smith, the Fountain Hotel, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire
Salmon Raj
Martin Rudley, Ring O'Bells, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Thai steamed cod on prawn and saffron jasmine rice with a warm lime and mango salsa
Game Pub Chef of the Year 2007
Mark Levy, the Russell, Ellesborough, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
Roast partridge, smoked Old Spot bacon, potato, leek and mushrooms
Daniel Kirkpatrick, The Shoulder of Mutton, Holcombe Village, Bury, Lancashire
Pheasant and chestnut ravioli, sautéed spinach, white chocolate and thyme foam
Simon Goodman, the Lickfold Inn, Nr Petworth, West Sussex
Date stuffed breast of West Sussex pheasant with puy lentils and a fricassée of wild mushrooms and leek
Beer with food Pub Chef of the Year 2007
James Rogers, the Dog Inn, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Medallions of local venison with Adnams bitter and red wine sauce
Yann Martin, Ring O'Bells, Thornton, Bradford, West Yorkshire
Oven roasted loin of lamb, served with a black pudding-flavoured tarlette filled with roasted cherry tomatoes and a Black Sheep gravy
Pepe Alarcon, the Williams Arms, Braunton, Devon
Green risotto of Devon lamb, Peruvian style, served with Cusquena beer
Seafood Pub Chef of the Year 2007
John Rudden, the White Hart Inn, Lydgate, Oldham, Lancashire
Pan roast corvina fillet with lobster and chicken ravioli and a pea and mushroom foam
Simon Goodman, the Lickfold Inn, nr Petworth, West Sussex
Open ravioli of king prawn, langoustine and clams in a light Selsey lobster cream
John Armstrong, the Puesdown Inn, Compton Abdale, Gloucestershire
Tournodos of roast hake with salmon mousseline, trompetter and Parmesan mash, finished with a chive sauce and Parmesan tuile
Starters & light bites Pub Chef of the Year 2007
Ross Whitmill, the Swan, Salford, nr Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Cheese and spinach soufflé
Daniel Kirkpatrick, the Shoulder of Mutton, Holcombe Village, Bury, Lancashire
Home-made white pudding and rhubarb sausage, seared scallops, burnt orange marmalade
Richard Upton, the Three Fishes, Mitton, Nr Whalley, Lancashire
Winnie Swarbrick's corn-fed Goosnargh chicken liver pate, golden raisins, Cumberland sauce, toasted organic bread
Meat Pub Chef of the Year 2007
John Rudden, the White Hart Inn, Lydgate, Oldham, Lancashire
Roast loin of lamb with lamb faggot and thyme fondant
Ross Williams, the Wellington, Wellington, Hereford
Rump of Marches lamb with aubergine, feta, potato and rosemary sauté, roast garlic and thyme jus
Bill Leadbeater, the Masons Arms, Swerford, Chipping Norton, Oxon
Milk poached shoulder of Gloucester Old Spot pork, parsnip and date purée, fried sweet potato and wilted thyme spinach
