Food Competition 2004
Hare - Heats
Chris and James from The Hare produced some fantastic dishes. However their best dish of the day had to be the main course of pan-seared tuna steak on a salad of sautéed potatoes and mange tout with chilli mayo dressing. The interesting fusion of ingredients resulted in a very attractive, mouth-watering dish.
Starter:
Smoked chicken and roasted red pepper topped with cream cheese
Very, very tasty but a slightly fancy presentation.
Light Bite:
Gorgonzola risotto cakes on a pear and rocket salad
Simply delicious. Slightly more pear and some cherry tomatoes would give the dish a touch of colour, and would make this a memorable light bite.
Main:
Pan-seared tuna steak on a salad of sautéed new potatoes and mange tout with chilli mayo dressing
A cracking dish but it should be described more simply.
Pudding:
Banana sponge with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream
Good combination of ingredients but the texture of sponge failed.
Prepared by:
Chris Ireland, James Lelew
| Heats | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Black Jug | ||
| Old Harkers Arms | ||
| Hare | ||
| Grosvenor Arms | Grosvenor Arms | |
| Pant-yr-Ochain | Pant-yr-Ochain | Pant-yr-Ochain |
| Armoury | ||
| Dysart Arms | ||
| Glasfryn | ||
| Cross Foxes | ||
| Corn Mill | Corn Mill | |
| Pen-y-Bryn |
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.