Battle of the BBQs - Chefs on Fire
The heat was on when PubChef staged its Battle of the BBQs competition, where finalists fought for a trip to the US. John Harrington and Jo Bruce report
Four pub chefs battled it out over the grills in a hot competition to win PubChef's inaugural Battle of the BBQs 2005 final.
The chefs were vying to win a place in the Best of Britain Championship Barbecue Team which will compete in the Jack Daniel's World Barbecue Championships in Lynchburg, Tennessee, in the United States, in October.
The sizzle-off took place at Union Pub Company site the Gate Inn, in Branston, near Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire.
Our finalists were selected to take part in the battle to find the best pub barbecue chefs following a paper judging. The contestants then had 15 minutes prep-time and 30 minutes cooking time to barbecue their dish.
They competed in two categories - seafood and meat - and used their grill skills to serve up some top-quality dishes which impressed PubChef's panel of judges and spectators.
The chefs competing included David Wharton of the Royal Oak in Poynings, West Sussex, Graham Smith of the Bear Inn, in Hotwells, Bristol, Sean Hope of the Olive Branch in Clipsham, Rutland and Graham Butler, of the Baskerville in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Our judges had to select two category winners and then finally choose an overall PubChef Battle of the BBQs 2005 champion. Chefs were judged on preparation, grill skills, presentation, dish texture and taste.
Ben Bartlett, one of the judges and manager of the Best of Britain Championship Barbecue Team says: "The overall standard was great and the finalists cooked up some really excellent dishes. It was a really tough decision for our judging panel."
As well as the competition, the event also included a barbecue demonstration by Major International's development chef Brian Eastment and a wine tasting with Sutter Home.
