Food Competition 2003 Stages
We've pointed out below each pub's best dish on the day. Click the link to see their whole line up.
Best Dish: Carrot, coriander and ricotta bake, spiced potato wedges and curried vegetable chutney
Armoury
Chefs: Jon Sabin
Heugo Heard
Jon and Huego put on a very good showing, especially considering that Huego is a manager rather than a chef. Their best dish was a light bite of carrot, coriander and ricotta bake, spiced potato wedges and curried vegetable chutney, which the judges loved, but felt that perhaps the potatoes weren’t quite right with the dish. They suggested a raitha might lighten things. [more...]
Best Dish: Braised pork belly in cider on colcannon with black pudding
Best Dish: Citrus marinated chicken breast with rice and roasted vegetables
Corn Mill
Chefs: Marco Romero
Jay Freeborn
Their best dish of the day was a citrus-marinated chicken breast with rice and roasted vegetables, This was tremendous on all counts, the only minor concern being the difficulty in maintaining consistency in reproduction. Marco and Jay had an unfortunate accident with their pud, which didn’t work out. [more...]
Best Dish: Apple turnover sponge pudding served with crème fraiche.
Cross Foxes
Chefs: Laura Jones
Paul Barclay
Laura and Paul produced an outstanding apple turnover sponge pudding served with crème fraiche, which was a real winner on every front. It was absolutely in keeping with our style. [more...]
Best Dish: Smoked haddock rarebit on a beef tomato and spring onion salad
Dysart Arms
Chefs: Craig Wainwright
Matt Cowell
Craig and Matt’s smoked haddock rarebit on a beef tomato and spring onion salad really caught the judges’ eye – it was a cracker, being very tasty and incredibly moreish. [more...]
Best Dish: Smoked haddock, ricotta and spinach tart
Best Dish: Braised ribeye of beef with mustard mash and air dried ham
Grosvenor Arms
Chefs: Laura Jones
Mike Hines
The Grosvenor’s main course of braised ribeye of beef with mustard mash and air dried ham was their outstanding dish on the day. It had excellent flavour – although it was suggested that the steak might have been braised rather than cooked to order, to ease service issues. [more...]
Best Dish: Baked cod, vanilla shrimp butter and creamy polenta
Best Dish: Caribbean chicken with grilled sweet potato and broccoli
Old Harkers Arms
Chefs: Dean Olsen
Chris Bunting
Harker’s champion dish on the day was their Caribbean chicken with grilled sweet potato and broccoli, which was tremendous visually and smelt fantastic, as well as tasting great. It could go straight onto a pub menu now. [more...]
Best Dish: Fillet of red bream on a smoked haddock and cherry tomato risotto, roast fennel and dill pesto.
Pant-yr-Ochain
Chefs: Jess Murphy
Rob Jeffreys
Best dish on the day : fillet of red bream on a smoked haddock and cherry tomato risotto, roast fennel and dill pesto. This was an excellent dish, with really delicate but defined flavours. The description was a bit windy for our menus but it was an excellent dish - a winner. [more...]
Best Dish: Italian style black cherry trifle.
Pen-y-Bryn
Chefs: Jonny Rathbone
Clare Jones
It was the pudding from Jonny and Clare that really did it for the judges- the Italian-style black cherry trifle had excellent textures and flavours, and was spot on all round. [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.