Food Competition 2005
Like its formula one cousin in motor racing, the Annual Food Competition for junior chefs this year tweaked its rules to make things more interesting and involving for participants and spectators alike. For the first time in the cook-offs, a junior chef from each pub was to be joined by a front-of-house personage, of whatever hue, to spice things up a bit and involve the whole pub rather than just the engine room.
First round results - Final results
There was stiff competition for places in the various teams, and some rare and unsuspected talent emerged from behind the beer pumps, but to date none has signed up and bought a set of whites.
Crews had clearly paid close attention to sourcing very high quality, local ingredients, then cooking them simply with a great deal of care. There were some minor scoring tweaks to boot, but overall standards were higher than ever, with a far greater percentage of dishes being on the money.
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.