Food Competition 2004
Pant-yr-Ochain - Final
www.pantyrochain-gresford.co.uk
The Pant yr Ochain cooked up three out of the four outstanding dishes, and deserved to win the annual food competition for the third time in four years. We felt that their best dish of the day was the Cajun chicken pitta.
Starter:
Champ potato dumplings with Shropshire blue and mint pesto
A very tasty dish - the delicate flavour of the dumplings contrasted well with the rich flavour of the Shropshire blue.
Light Bite:
Cajun chicken pitta bread with avocado mayonnaise
Looked very appetising - the colours grabbed the eye, and the vivid flavours grabbed the tongue -a well cooked dish.
Main:
Fillets of rainbow trout with a warm potato, bacon and frisse salad
A very attractive, simple dish which was well seasoned, but a squeeze of lemon and lime would have added that extra bit of zing.
Pudding:
Rhubarb and custard tart with clotted cream
Tasty- although perhaps the rhubarb could have been slightly sharper.
Prepared by:
Ben Stanley, Lizzie Pethig
| 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.