Battle of the Chefs - Sauce of Inspiration

Two chefs from sister inns in West Sussex were in for a saucy time when our latest Ready, Steady, Cook face-off took place. Alison Baker reports

There was more sauce than a Carry On film when our latest mystery ingredients challenge took place. Two chefs de partie from West Sussex sister pubs the Royal Oak in East Lavant, and the Halfway Bridge in Lodsworth, near Petworth, were given two Knorr sauces which had to be used in a starter and main course.

Owner of the two hostelries Nick Sutherland decided it would be a good idea to pit one pub's chef de partie against the other's to see who would be the Battle of the Chefs' victor. The two competitors, Darren Castleman, of the Halfway Bridge, and Karla Blake, of the Royal Oak, have never met before but it soon becomes clear that, in spite of their rivalry, a great working relationship has been born.

The battle takes place at the Halfway Bridge - the older of the two pubs but the most-recently acquired. As the home player, Darren, who is currently living above the pub, is tipped as the favourite but he faces tough competition from his Royal Oak rival.

The challenge

Each chef receives a bag of mystery ingredients, including Knorr's Garde D'Or béchamel and mushroom sauces, and is challenged to create both a starter and main course in 50 minutes. The chefs can each reject one ingredient which must then be incorporated into their opponent's menu. They must use all the other ingredients. Stock ingredients, including eggs, oils, milk and herbs, can also be used.

Before

There's little time for nerves today. Both chefs have just finished a busy lunchtime service so, while Darren has a short break, Karla makes a 14-mile dash to the Halfway Bridge for the battle to commence. Darren shows his opponent around the kitchen, giving her a few minutes to familiarise herself. "I'm excited," he confides. "It's the same feeling as you get before a Saturday night service - a real adrenalin rush. That's what we do it for." Karla agrees. Both chefs are quietly confident but, with Darren on home territory, Karla faces a tough challenge ahead. Nevertheless, her supporters, who have travelled up with her from the Royal Oak, are confident she'll rise to the occasion. Both chefs go off to change into their whites, provided by sponsor Unilever Foodsolutions, then draw lots for their set of ingredients. The cook-off is ready to begin.

The ingredients are revealed. Neither chef has used the Knorr sauces before so Ray Lorimer, executive chef and manager of the culinary services team at Unilever, explains their properties and uses. Ray was once a competitive chef himself, so he's no stranger to this environment.

Each chef has five minutes to plan before their 50 minutes cooking time begins. Karla looks apprehensive as she ponders the table. "This is so hard," she remarks. Darren seems more relaxed and has his ideas in place well within the allotted time. Karla, on the other hand, plans to the last minute. It's now time for each chef to nominate an ingredient with which their opponent must work, but there is definitely an air of cooperation between the two. "You can have half my spinach if I can have your tomatoes" bargains Karla. Eventually she rejects the pancetta and Darren offers her his leeks. "She needs them," he explains. Sportsmanship is clearly the name of the game here.

And they're off

50 minutes to go: Darren has decided on a starter of chicken stuffed with a mushroom and shallot sauce wrapped in pancetta, and a main of trout in a white wine and dill sauce, served on a bed of shallots and Parma ham. Karla is to make a Thai-style prawn broth using the Knorr Béchamel Sauce, and steak with a mushroom, port and Stilton sauce served with an artichoke and potato mash and sautéed leeks. She sets about chopping the lemongrass and ginger for the soup while Darren prepares his chicken for stuffing and begins to thicken the mushroom sauce. A tower of strength for the away-chef, he helps Karla with the oven's temperature controls before heading back to his sauce.

45 minutes to go: Karla sautés her spices and begins to slice the leeks while Darren gradually thickens his Knorr sauce with flour. He looks concerned but is confident that the sauce will do what he wants it to do eventually. The atmosphere is relaxed; the radio is playing in the background and the chefs chat to one another while they work. It's as if they're on the same team.

40 minutes to go: Karla pours coconut milk into a pan and adds some Knorr bouillon fish paste - a Unilever Foodsolutions ingredient used by the Halfway Bridge. Darren teases Karla. "Bring it on," she retorts. She begins peeling the artichokes for her mash while Darren sautés the shallots and adds them to the thickened sauce to make a paste. Karla decides to deep-fry some artichoke to see whether it will turn into a crisp. "It's good, but I'm not going to use it," she decides.

35 minutes to go: Darren pipes the mushroom and shallot filling into the chicken then wraps the pancetta around each breast before putting them to one side. Karla puts the artichokes and some potatoes on to boil. "Hey Bungle, where's the liquidiser?" she asks, using Darren's nickname. "Over there Kaz," comes the reply. The camaraderie continues.

30 minutes to go: Darren looks confident. "I'm going to sit the tomatoes in some balsamic vinegar, demerara and brandy before I roast them" he says.

25 minutes to go: Both chefs seem to be coping well under pressure; fully focused, it's hard to believe they've both already been working for hours. Karla adds the béchamel sauce to the pan to thicken her broth and Darren preps his trout fillets.

20 minutes to go: Darren adds some cumin to the rest of the mushroom sauce, which he plans to serve with the stuffed chicken breast. "I want to give it an edge," he explains. Karla checks on the simmering artichokes then combines her port with the mushroom sauce, which she will serve with the beef medallions. Having wilted the spinach, she liquidises it with the other broth ingredients for her starter.

15 minutes to go: Darren begins to make his white wine and dill sauce, using the béchamel, to serve with the trout. "We usually make our own sauces," he comments. "It's the way we've been trained," adds Karla. Darren browns the limes in a pan to serve as a garnish with the roasted tomatoes. He pan-fries the chicken and continues to add white wine to his sauce. Karla mashes her artichokes and potatoes and seasons them. She then peels some of the king prawns to serve with the broth.

10 minutes to go: One of Karla's supporters sticks his head round the door. "Can you get me a beer ready; I need it," she calls. Karla halves the prawns lengthways and uses them to line the bottom of the clear glass soup bowls. Darren pan-fries the trout and roasts off the tomatoes with some whole garlic cloves and butter.

5 minutes to go: Karla ladles her soup into the bowls and garnishes it with fresh lemon and whole prawns. She cooks her steak and makes her mushroom, port and Stilton sauce, using the mushroom sauce as a base. Darren steams the trout through with lime in the oven and finishes off his white wine and dill sauce, using the Knorr béchamel.

2 minutes to go: Karla plates up the potato and creams her leeks with butter, cream, béchamel and some Parma ham which she sneakily "borrows" from Darren.

Time's up: As the 50 minutes cooking time draws to an end, the chefs plate up and apprehensively await the verdict.

The results: The judges are Ray Lorimer, executive chef and manager, and Laetitia Liot, product manager, both from Unilever Foodsolutions, and Terry Hanlon, a regular at the Halfway Bridge and polo commentator at nearby Cowdray Park. Terry dines at the pub five or six times a week and even has his own table. "I never eat anywhere else," he says. The judges' brief is to rate the dishes on taste, presentation and the creative use of ingredients.

In terms of the starters, the panel is impress