Food Competition 2008
Old Harkers Arms - Final
Harkers were up against stiff competition in this year's final, but nevertheless demonstrated superb creativity and cooked up a range of satisfying food. There was room for improvement on a few of the dishes but overall a very good effort.
Starter:
Seared pigeon breast salad with black pudding and blueberry dressing
A slightly sweeter dressing would help pull all the flavours of this salad together.
Light Bite:
Creole rice salad with sweet potatoes and roasted vegetables
Fresh and wholesome with a unique edge to the usual vegetarian salad. Well worth developing to make it a complete main course salad dish.
Main:
Harkers catch of the day - Gilt head bream with new potatoes, vegetables and caper butter
Exquisitely cooked fish, pure and simple in flavour and presentation. A touch of butter on the vegetables would have given them an attractive glaze .
Pudding:
Black forest roulade with cherry compote
A rich and intensely flavoured dessert which was well executed.
Prepared by:
Carl Shone and Sarah Drake
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.