Pub chef triumphs in British BBQ Battle
Eight chefs competed in the competition which was held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, with two chefs representing their respective categories – pub/bar, golf club/ event catering, Universities and hotels.
Each chef had one hour to cook up and present a three course meal on the barbecue which was then put before a panel of judges including the president of the British BBQ Association Ben Bartlett.
Haime’s winning menu comprised of hot smoked salmon with parsley and chive flatbreads with a beetroot and lemon mayonnaise to start which was accompanied by Whitstable Bay Pale Ale from the Faversham Steam Brewery.
For main, Haime prepared a sharing roast of barbecued beef with honey and mustard root vegetable skewers, Yorkshire pudding wraps and a horseradish crème fraiche that came accompanied with India Pale Ale from Shepherd Neame’s Classic Collection.
Barbecued bread and butter pudding and caramelised apple skewers and an apple, sultana and ginger sauce was prepared for dessert and was paired with Shepherd Neame’s 1698 conditioned ale.
“I wanted my menu to be classically British,” said Haim “and the most British dish of all is Sunday lunch.
“The centre piece was the main course, which had all the elements of a roast dinner but in a different format. The main course is quite heavy so I prepared a light starter of smoked salmon where I used a wok containing Earl Grey tea which would smoke the salmon once it started to burn.
“With the bread and butter pudding skewers I served our 1698 strong ale in tea cups with saucers to create a garden party picnic.”
Haime, who has worked for the Faversham based brewery for two years, has run her own pub the Sandrock in Farnham, Surrey, for the past 19 years and drew on her experience of holding regular barbecues for customers.
Speaking about her win, Haime said: “It was quite a rush as we only had an hour to cook, but everything came together in the end, and I am so proud to have won my category.”
Competing alongside Haime in the pub/bar category was Dave Alebon from the Brasshouse in Birmingham (Stonegate Pubs) while Graham Crump from Warwick University was crowned the competitions overall winner.
The competition was organised by Crown Verity BBQ’s and RH Hall.
