With the whisks whirring and the sauces simmering, the county’s finest chefs have been fighting over their frying pans to determine who will be named ‘Booker Chef of the Year’ and ‘Curry Chef of the Year’ in probably the world’s most prestigious culinary competition - the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards!
The Awards, devised by Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership (NEP), are now in their third year and are again aimed at celebrating all that is great about local produce and drink, to recognise excellence within the county’s dining venues and to reward those who work so hard within the culinary sector.
The first cook-off, and the bid to be named ‘Booker Chef of the Year’, took place in the impressive kitchens of the Silverstone circuit, and the quartet competing over the stoves were (in alphabetical order):
- Hao Dang of Dang’s Vietnamese Restaurant, Northampton
- Lee Gaskins of The Terrace Restaurant at Highgate House, Creaton
- Scott Grimsley of The Olde Red Lion, Kislingbury
- Will Mountain of The Saracen’s Head, Little Brington
In true ‘Ready Steady Cook’ style, each chef was presented with a basket of produce provided by category sponsor Booker, as well as the two key Northamptonshire ingredients of Harpole breast of lamb and strawberries from Newton, from which they had to create two mouthwatering courses.
Among the dishes they served were grilled asparagus with a tomato and coriander concasse, a crispy boiled egg and basil and raspberry vinaigrette, braised lamb ‘two-ways’ with a gateau of ratatouille and a basil and mint dressing and also a dessert of crème brûlée with berries, a mini summer pudding and a mini white wine jelly.
The judges charged with the delicious task of sampling the dishes were BBC Radio Northampton’s Laura Cook, Mike Coppock from Northampton College, Booker’s Regional Director Stuart Hyslop, Steven Saunders who is a Fellow Master Chef of Great Britain and Grant Hawthorne, Master Chef of Great Britain. Said Grant “It’s great to see the regionality of British cooking becoming more prominent on both the chef and wider public's radar and a competition like this can only serve to enhance the reasons for visiting Northamptonshire. I think it’s a super way to support the county and celebrate not just its wonderful produce, but the people who cook it.”
For Stuart, the successful event was merely confirmation of his company’s decision to support the Awards. “As a local supplier to many chefs throughout Northamptonshire, Booker understands how important it is to reward those individuals who continue to create outstanding food. So to observe the finalists conjuring up some amazing dishes using our produce makes us very proud to be involved!”
The chefs now have until 1st September to discover their fate when the winners and runners-up in all ten categories will be announced at the Awards Dinner at Holdenby House. Meanwhile, to see them in action at the cook-offs, visit the Awards’ website – www.letyourselfgrow.com/foodanddrinkawards
Finally, there’s your chance to help to decide who wins the ‘Community Pub of the Year’, ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and the ‘Pub or Bar Restaurant of the Year’ titles again by visiting the Awards’ website - www.letyourselfgrow.com/foodanddrinkawards and voting for your favourite in each category or by completing voting form which is available at each of the venues. You have until 8th August to register your vote.
