The growing influence of pub food in our national cuisine has been spotlighted by the success of two pub cooks in the 2006 Lea & Perrins WorcesterChef recipe competition.
Alison Earle, demi chef at the Tolgate Inn in Bradford upon Avon was highly commended in the light bite category, adding to a list of accolades for the Tolgate which also includes the Catering Pub of the Year title in the Publican Awards 2004). Sam Wydymus, chef/patron at the Coastguard in Kent was highly commended in the main course category.
The winning main course, pure bred South Devon rib eye steak with chunky chips and Lea & Perrins relish is also a classic pub food dish,. It was created Simon Hulstone, head chef of the Elephant Restaurant in Torquay. First prize in the light bite category went to Tony Leck, chef proprietor at the Pavilion café brasserie in Guernsey, with his scallop & crab bites.
The finalists, five short-listed chefs in each category, battled it out in a two-hour cook off at Westminster Kingsway College. Anton Edelmann, principle chef, Directors Table, and a member of the judging panel, said: "The chefs pulled out all the stops to showcase some amazing innovation and we certainly had a treat sampling all the dishes during the judging session.
"All the chefs in the final demonstrated the importance of balancing textures and flavours when creating a winning dish. They used the ingredients sensitively and cleverly to devise interesting dishes with great customer appeal and the unique Lea & Perrins 'kick'.."
Jo Wallace, innovations manager, Lea & Perrins, said: "We have seen some fantastic examples of innovation and flair from a wide spectrum of chefs working within a range of sectors."