Food Competition 2008
Dysart Arms - Heats
Overall Chris and Ben cooked up some great dishes. A little more development and refining would just add the finishing touches to all four courses and they'd sit great on the menu.
Starter:
Leek and blue cheese croquette with warm tomato salsa
Best dish of the day for the Dysart team. The croquettes were full of flavour and very well combined. A definite winner, but possibly a little large for a starter portion.
Light Bite:
Grilled fillet of sea bream with Mediterranean vegetable salad and pesto dressing
The fish was cooked perfectly but didn't really work as an integrated salad, all elements were very well executed though. Definitely worth developing as a main course salad dish.
Main:
Pan fried chicken breast with spring onion mash, cabbage, bacon and a white wine with tarragon sauce
All elements were done well. Although sautéed potatoes would have been a better choice over the creamy mash (with the cream sauce), and the dish needed another veg to balance.
Pudding:
Rhubarb and custard pie with rhubarb coulis
Great pastry, good filling, but would benefit from a bit more development before it hits the menu.
Prepared by:
Chris Murton and Benjamin Blackford
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.