PubChef Awards - Poultry
Poultry is a versatile and healthy ingredient that can also produce an excellent GP for chefs. The finalists were asked to create dishes that demonstrate turkey's versatility beyond the Christmas menu. Jo Bruce reports on how they fared
A fantastic carrier of flavours, turkey is perceived by customers as a healthy option and has been hailed as a "superfood" by Dr Steven Pratt in his book Superfoods: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, in which he describes turkey as being "the leanest meat source of protein on the planet."
The poultry category challenged our four finalists to create a main-course dish, using turkey as the main ingredient. No preprepared ingredients were allowed.
The judges were: Kim Burgess, spokeswoman of the publicity and marketing committee of category sponsor the British Turkey Council; Richard Bryan, former producer of MasterChef and owner of the Walpole Arms in Itteringham, Norfolk; food writer Mark Taylor; and Mark Rowe, owner of Odells restaurant, representing the Craft Guild of Chefs.
Chef: Anthony Williams, head chef.
Pub: Williams Arms, Wrafton, Braunton, Devon.
Dish: Breast of turkey stuffed with Devon crab on wilted spinach, with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and Parisienne potatoes.
Menu price: £10.95.
Cost of ingredients: £2.72.
Why this dish?: "Lots of pubs have too much chicken on and overlook turkey. As a protein it gives you an exceptional GP. The crab and turkey works really well together and I wanted to do something different with crab. This is the nearest thing I have to a signature dish."
Background: Anthony has worked at the Williams Arms for 27 years. The pub serves an average 1,800 covers a week and has a wet:dry spilt of 65:35. He says: "I train my own chefs and have built an excellent reputation of which I am very proud."
Chef: Daniel Kirkpatrick, head chef.
Pub: Garsdale Country Inn & Restaurant, Bury, Lancashire.
Dish: Turkey Kiev - breaded Saddleworth turkey escalope filled with Ramsbottom wild garlic and chilli butter. Rocket, watercress and slow-roast tomato salad. Lemon and cracked pepper vinaigrette.
Menu price: £9.25.
Cost of ingredients: £2.24.
Why this dish?: "It is a fresh twist on a classic and is an interesting way of using turkey on the menu at different times of year. Turkey is a really versatile ingredient and produces a fantastic GP."
Background: Daniel won the meat category in the PubChef Awards 2005, when he was joint licensee and head chef at the Eagle & Child in Ramsbottom, Lancashire. Since entering the awards he has changed jobs and is now at the Dining Room in Rawtenstall, Lancashire.
Chef: Harry Shenk, head chef.
Pub: Baroosh, Staines, Middlesex.
Dish: Poached turkey roulade filled with spinach and butternut squash.
Menu price: £9.75.
Cost of ingredients: £2.90.
Why this dish?: "It is a simple dish that is low in fat. It is easy to prepare and there is not too much going on. It produces a really good gross profit."
Background: Harry is head chef and kitchen manager at the McMullen's-owned Baroosh. The bar serves an average 800 covers a week. Harry believes good pub food should use fresh produce to create quality, good value dishes that appeal to a variety of customers. He believes he is an excellent pub chef because he has passion, commitment, enthusiasm and a great team.
Chef: Mathew Shropshall, chef/licensee.
Pub: The Royal Oak, Kings Bromley, Staffordshire.
Dish: Escalope of turkey breast served with wild-mushroom ragout, organic new potato and tomato confit.
Menu price: £10.95.
Cost of ingredients: £2.95.
Why this dish?: "It is good to use turkey not just at Christmas. The flavours work really well together and it takes different influences from a few famous dishes."
Background: Mathew serves up around 500 to 600 covers a week at the Royal Oak. He believes good pub food should be well-priced local food with clean flavours and simple, classic dishes. As well as running the pub Mathew is a lecturer at a catering college and also represented the UK in the World Barbecue Championships in October. He trained with the Roux Brothers.
The Judges' verdicts on the finalists
Anthony Williams: "A really interesting dish. The turkey was cooked nice and tender. Good ingredients. This is a really good pub dish."
Daniel Kirkpatrick: "Fantastic twist on a classic. Good use of local produce. Great presentation. A really good pub dish."
Harry Shenk: "Good experimentation of different ingredients with turkey. Lots of colour to the dish and great use of seasonal ingredients. Harry's passion shines through."
Mathew Shropshall: "Excellent execution of the dish. Fantastic knowledge of his ingredients. Great concept. A confident, well organised and passionate chef."
The winner
Anthony Williams, head chef at the Williams Arms in Braunton, Devon, won the poultry category with his dish of breast of turkey stuffed with Devon crab on wilted spinach, with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes and Parisienne potatoes. The dish is on the menu at £10.95 and produces an excellent gross profit of 75%.
Anthony has been head chef at the Williams Arms for 27 years, having started there as an apprentice, and since last April has been writing a food column for the North Devon Journal. He says he is totally dedicated to his pub-chef career and the constant development of new dishes.
He offers three of four different turkey dishes on the pub's menu, including turkey gratin and turkey provençale. He sources the turkey for his winning dish from MC Kelly, at Elston Farm, Copplestone, Crediton, Devon, and the crab from S&T Fisheries in Plymouth, Devon.
Judge Kim Burgess says: "I liked everything about this chef - the dish, his ingredients, his passion. The use of crab with turkey was interesting and worked well. Anthony's dish is a fantastic pub dish; the sauce was excellent and the turkey very tender."
