Food Competition 2006
Pant-yr-Ochain - Final
www.pantyrochain-gresford.co.uk
The challenge of the final was met with confidence by the Pant team - rich, wholesome, natural flavours were present at every stage, which in turn created an elaborate range of dishes. There is no denying that their warm chocolate pudding with pistachio ice cream was sensational and well worthy of the highest rank.
Starter:
Potted crab with toast
A nice dish that went wrong in the final execution with the potted crab being just too runny.
Light Bite:
Corned beef hash with brown sauce
A solidly satisfying dish but far to generous on portion size and too mushy a consistency for the corned beef.
Main:
Fillets of seabass with bok choi and coriander sauce
A substantial but extremely light and well-balanced dish, cooked with accuracy and bursting with flavour.
Pudding:
Warm chocolate mousse with pistachio ice cream
Delicately baked to perfection which may well become legendary if it goes on the menu.
Prepared by:
Sean Adam, James Mayers
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.