Food Competition 2005 Stages
Best Dish: Plum and frangipane tarte with mascarpone cream
Armoury
Chefs: Sim Harrison, Jon Emerson
The Armoury produced two particularly exciting and different dishes. The Sweetcorn cakes that were served with a zingy avocado salsa and Plum and frangipane tarte were the favorites, but when it came to the crunch it was the dessert that just came out on top. [more...]
Best Dish: Lemon mallow pie served with mango sorbet
Best Dish: Pork bacon and thyme sausage with champ and caramelised red onion gravy
Combermere Arms
Chefs: Tim Pearson, Emma Prescott
Tim and Emma were very creative in all four dishes but it was the winning main course of homemade sausages that took centre stage. There was just the right balance of ingredients along with a perfect cooking technique that resulted in this being a superbly accomplished dish. [more...]
Best Dish: Ham and asparagus terrine with pickles and crusty bread
Best Dish: Cherry Bakewell sponge pudding with custard
Cross Foxes
Chefs: James O'Brien, Andy Clark
The Cross Foxes chefs developed four outstanding, very original courses. The Cherry Bakewell sponge was simple and perfectly executed making it the highest scoring dish in the whole competition. The homemade Pigeon pasty was very impressive and would be great on the menu. [more...]
Best Dish: Apple and blackberry rolypoly with cinnamon custard
Dysart Arms
Chefs: Sam Evans, Craig Wainright
The Dysart's Apple and blackberry roly poly with cinnamon custard was their dish of the day, really impressing the judges with its perfect balance of ingredients, great style and presentation and good value for money. [more...]
Best Dish: Boiled beef and carrots
Best Dish: Smoked cod fillet with cured ham, crushed new potatoes and poached egg
Best Dish: Whole roasted stuffed baby chicken served with vegetables
Grosvenor Arms
Chefs: Joyce Kean, Clare Weaver
The dish of the day from Joyce and Clare was the Stuffed baby chicken, an all-round mouthwatering meal, accompanied with red wine sauce. [more...]
Best Dish: Shepherd's pie with creamy Savoy cabbage, peas, bacon and onions
Old Harkers Arms
Chefs: Lisa Carey, Paul Hope
Harker's chefs really excelled themselves this year cooking up some great wholesome pub food, but it was the Shepherd's pie that really stood out - a hearty dish served with an interesting mixture of vegetables and bacon. [more...]
Best Dish: Amaretto pannacotta with roasted peaches
Pant-yr-Ochain
Chefs: John Unsworth, Ryan Leonard
The most outstanding dish from the Pant yr Ochain team was their Amerreto pannacotta with roasted peaches. This was an incredibly rich dessert but was well balanced with the roasted peaches. [more...]
Best Dish: Rhubarb and custard trifle
Pen-y-Bryn
Chefs: Steven Kean, Stuart Russell
Stuart and Steve created four first class dishes and it was very hard to choose the overall dish of the day, but the Rhubarb and custard trifle was the perfect dish gaining almost full marks in every category; great style with delicious taste. [more...]
The Challenge
Every pub must enter a starter, light bite, main course and pudding. The dishes need to be prepared, cooked and put together in the morning before judging at lunchtime.
In the first round, three or four pubs each day go up against each other. The winner overall on each day goes through to the final, which is held two weeks later.
Pub managers and senior chefs are encouraged to come along for the judging and to lend support at the tastings and see what their crews have done, but they can't make any alterations or comment until after the judging - or heckle the other pub teams.
The Criteria
Each dish will be judged under the following criteria; the written description of the dish; the style of the dish; presentation; taste and balance; value for money for the customer; gross profit to the pub; kitchen efficiency; likelihood of consistent reproduction; ease of service to the table.
Prizes
The winning team will enjoy the glory, the admiration and undoubtedly the accusations of bias and double-dealing from all their peers. They will also receive a trophy and probably a case or two of something quaffable to share amongst the team.