Food Competition 2006
Black Jug - Heats
The style and presentation of the Black Jug's food was all a bit too restauranty. In spite of this though, they had come up with some good ideas that with re-development could show a lot of promise. Their chocolate fondant, an exceptionally hard dish to execute, was by far their best dish.
Starter:
Pan fried lamb kidneys with pancetta, parsley salad and shallot dressing
The presentation of this dish was far to 'restauranty' and unfortunately the kidneys were slightly undercooked, but it had good flavour. With a bit of a re-jig this dish shows promise.
Light Bite:
Smoked haddock and salmon kedgeree with poached egg
A good idea, but this classic dish was over-complicated with flavours, the overall colour was too green and the flavour too sweet which ultimately over-powered the fish.
Main:
8oz grilled fillet steak with Stilton butter, spinach, rosti potato and port sauce
Stacking the food really let this dish down, making the rosti soggy. The port sauce lacked depth of flavour, although the fillet steak was cooked perfectly.
Pudding:
Chocolate fondant with blackcurrant compote
Looked and tasted delicious, although the mint shavings were unnecessary.
Prepared by:
Jon Thwaites, Francesco Raciti
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.