The successful chefs included Andrew Biggs, Mark Kinzel, Jessica Simpson and Sam Walton. The quartet will present their meals at the Elior UK’s Awards for Excellence in March, where the overall winner will be declared.
Ten Elior chefs competed for a space in the final by producing a two-course ‘celebration lunch’ menu for two covers plus three canapés. Taking place at the Unilever’s Chefmanship Centre, the judges selected the competitors with the following dishes:
- Simpson impressed the panel of experts with canapés such as langoustine, spruce butter and caramelised whey.
- Walton exhibited his vegan maple glazed beetroot tarte tatin with cashew nut mousse.
- Biggs was awarded for his main course of Goosnargh duck breast and faggot, crown prince squash houmous, harissa spiced chickpeas and scorched little gem.
- For dessert, Kinzel created salted crème caramel, dark chocolate and pistachio mousse, Norfolk honeycomb, blood orange, poppy seed and basil, which was chosen as the ‘perfect dish’ to end the awards dinner.
The judging panel was made up of four industry experts including Peter Griffiths MBE (president of the British Federation of Chefs), Martyn Nail (executive chef, Claridges Hotel London), Robin Givens (managing director contracts, Elior UK) and Steven Fitzsimmons (executive chef, AJ Bell Stadium).
Peter Joyner, food development director at Elior UK, said: “Congratulations to our four finalists- I hope you enjoy serving up your prized dishes to your colleagues and friends at Elior awards dinner next month.
“Also, well done to all competing chefs. It takes dedication and skill to develop and execute your own menus under pressure.
“Our Culinary Competition, amongst other internal contests, is a brilliant opportunity for chefs to boost their careers, get in front of senior members of the team, and learn key skills for the future.”
To learn more about Elior UK and its learning and development initiatives visit http://www.elior.co.uk/.