PubChef Awards - Meat
Provenance seems all the rage as consumers demand to know more about the source and supply of their ingredients. Nowhere is this better illustrated than when it comes to meat, says Jo Bruce
The range of different cuts, breeds and offal means meat is a versatile ingredient for chefs.
PubChef's Meat cook-off challenged finalists to create a main course using beef, lamb or pork as the key ingredient.
With increasing interest in the provenance of ingredients, chefs also had to demonstrate a knowledge of the origin and supplier of their meat. The category is sponsored through the Meat & Livestock Commission's new menu transparency website www.meatorigin.co.uk.
Chefs had one-and-a-half hours to prepare and present four of the same main course dish to judges. No ingredients could be preprepared, with the exception of stocks.
Judges were Sean Hope, director of Michelin-starred the Olive Branch in Clipsham, Rutland; food writer Mark Taylor; David Hancock, editor of Les Routiers British Pubs & Inns 2006; Tony Goodger, foodservice trade sector manager of category sponsor the LC, and Geoff Sutton, of the Craft Guild of Chefs.
Chef: Conrad Mitchell
Pub: The Cock Inn, Lakenham, Norwich
Dish: Loin of Norfolk lamb with flageolet purée, fondant potato and garlic confit
Menu price: £17.95
Cost of ingredients: £5.25
Why this dish? "Flageolet beans and lamb are a classic combination and the dish, which uses lamb from a local farm, is popular on the menu."
Background: Conrad and wife Mary have been managers at the Oak Taverns pub for a month and are serving an average 250 covers a week. Conrad, who has been a chef for 22 years,
believes the strength of his cooking stems from his ability to vary classic dishes: "I feel my skills lie in using local produce and creating exciting new dishes, but the basis of my food is traditional and I add a modern twist of my own."
Chef: David Edward, head chef
Pub: Three Fishes, Mitton, nr Whalley, Lancashire
Dish: Grilled new season's Bowland lamb's liver, confit kidneys, mashed potatoes, bucks spring cabbage, roast garlic sauce
Menu price: £9.50
Cost of ingredients: £2.37
Why this dish? "It is a good dish to turn around when you are doing a high level of covers. We are currently serving around 2,000 covers a week and this dish produces a good GP of 74%. From the window you can see the grass the lambs we
use eat."
Background: Head chef at the Three Fishes for just over a year, David has been a chef for 15 years. He says: "Good pub food should be truly British and identify with its region wherever possible. I can keep the market interested in new
dishes and source seasonal, local produce at a good price."
Chef: Simon Goodman, head chef
Pub: Lickfold Inn, Lickfold, near Petworth, West Sussex
Dish: Trio of herb-crusted Fernhurst lamb with roast garlic mash, French beans and a mint and redcurrant jus
Menu price: £17.95
Cost of ingredients: £5.75
Why this dish? "I think all the flavours of the dish complement each other really well and it is something different using the three different cuts of lamb.
"It is a really popular dish and the lamb, from a local farm, is excellent quality."
Background: Simon has been head chef at the Lickfold for four years. The pub serves around 350 covers a week. Simon's current best-selling main course dish is braised Southdown lamb shank (£16.95).
Chef: Neil Clark, head chef
Pub: Linnet, Great Hinton, near Trowbridge,
Wiltshire
Dish: Seared lamb loin with mint-crusted sweetbreads, split pea purée and port and mustard gravy
Menu price: £15.50
Cost of ingredients: £4.49
Why this dish? "I love creating English dishes. Lamb and peas are a traditional combination, as are lamb and mint, but this dish with the sweetbreads uses a new twist."
Background: Neil has been head chef at Wadworth tenancy the Linnet for five years. The pub serves an average 350-400 covers a week. Neil was Pub Chef of the Year 2005 in the
PubChef Awards. He is proud of his knowledge of the local market and says: "Good chefs should be confident, with a wide knowledge of local food and know what the customer wants."
Chef: Bill Leadbeater, chef/licensee
Pub: Masons Arms, Swerford, near Chipping Norton, Oxon
Dish: Roast saddle of Oxford Down lamb, butternut squash with lightly curried vegetable mousseline, jacket roast potatoes, fried courgettes, light jus
Menu price: £13.95
Cost of ingredients: £4.75
Why this dish? "The flavours combine really well together. There is a slight curry influence in the dish and I think lamb and curry go really well together. The lamb is a rare breed and organic, which I think has a better eating quality."
Background: Bill has been a chef for 25 years and worked at Marco Pierre White's Harvey's. He took on the Masons Arms with wife Charmain in 2003 and serves an average 500 covers a week.
The judges' verdicts on the finalists:
Conrad Mitchell: "The lamb was well cooked and I loved the concept of the flageolet beans. There was confident execution of the dish and good portion size. Excellent fondant potatoes."
David Edward: "Amazing creamy, light, fluffy mash. Great skill in confiting the kidneys. Perfect cabbage and simple presentation. Great to see offal being used not just with bacon and onions."
Simon Goodman: "A good, balanced and seasonal dish. Excellent textures in the sauce and great mash. Good sourcing of ingredients and great to see the three different cuts of lamb."
Neil Clark: "Fantastic to see sweetbreads. An exciting and fresh dish. Excellent skill and methodical approach with a real passion for his ingredients. All components worked well together."
Bill Leadbeater: "A really good pub dish. The butternut squash and mousseline was fantastic. The lamb was cooked
superbly and the dish offered good value for money. Great skill levels."
The winner
David Edward, head chef at the Three Fishes, Mitton, Lancashire, won the meat category with his dish of grilled new season's Bowland lamb's liver, confit kidneys, mashed potatoes, spring cabbage and roast garlic sauce. The dish is on the menu at £9.50 and produces a GP of 74%. The pub is currently serving an average 2,000 covers a week. Fish and chips is its current bestseller.
David has worked at the Three Fishes since its opening a year ago. He has been a chef for 15 years and worked in many London restaurants.
David sources the Bowland lamb for his winning dish from farmer Jim Curwen of Bowland Forest Meats.
The pub is owned by Ribble Valley Inns, set up by Nigel Haworth and Craig Bancroft, of Northcote Manor.
Judge Tony Goodger says: "It is great to see liver being used not just with bacon and onions. This is a really great pub dish and offers good value for money. The mashed potato was excellent."
Sean Hope, director of the Michelin-starred Olive Branch in Clipsham, Rutland, said: "David has some great relationships with his suppliers, which is excellent to see. He has a real passion for his ingredients and what he does. A simple dish that was well executed."
