Food Competition 2005
Dysart Arms - Heats
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.
Starter:
Black pudding and mushroom-stuffed beef tomato with crispy Parma ham
Trying slightly too hard with presentation. The crispy ham complemented the dish well but there was some conflict with the duxelle/ black pudding mix.
Light Bite:
Seared tuna on olive salad with coriander butter
A good dish well done.
Main:
Locally-reared venison on sweet potato mash with juniper sauce
Really lovely combination - venison well cooked with an excellent sauce. The dish would be more attractive if hadn't been stacked, which would show off the colour of the vegetables.
Pudding:
Apple and blackberry rolypoly with cinnamon custard
You could not fault this dish with an excellent description. It tasted great, looked great and really had a wow factor.
Prepared by:
Sam Evans, Craig Wainright
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.