Chef of the future

Following fierce competition, the Cordon Vert Chef of the Future contest winners have been announced to coincide with National Vegetarian Week.

The 2009 joint winners are Barry Tonkinson, from the Lanesborough Hotel, London and Eddie Shepherd, from Mono, Glasgow. Both have been awarded a scholarship for a Cordon Vert Diploma, worth in excess of £1,500.

The Cordon Vert School launched the competition in March setting out to find the new vegetarian chefs of the future and to offer them the chance to show their potential by taking part in an exciting culinary competition.

Chefs submitted a three course meal, suitable for vegetarians. Competition finalists then produced their menu at the cook off held at the Cordon Vert School in Cheshire.

Tonkinson's winning menu featured courgette flower 'fritti' with goat's cheese pesto, caponata & carpaccio for starters, followed by a main Thai inspired aubergine & butternut curry with lychee & beet-jasmine rice.

Meanwhile Shepherd's dishes included herbed goat's cheese with blood orange and a balsamic reduction, served with lightly toasted fine slices of baguette, followed by halloumi, new potato and spring onion rosti topped with pan-fried garlic, herb and white wine mushrooms served on a bed of fresh spinach and toasted pine nuts.

Desserts served up by the winning chefs included Ivoire of vanilla seed pannacotta, poached rhubarb, red & black jelly, sugar sticks, spiced plum & strawberry individual crumbles, dusted with cinnamon and served with a dark chocolate and ginger sauce, and Rhubarb tart, stem ginger ice cream, mille feuille of salted caramel.

Katie Douglass, catering services manager at the Vegetarian Society, said: "The Chef of the Future contest set out to find the chefs with talent, promise, creativity and new ideas. The winning chefs in the final cook off certainly had that, it was really exciting to watch them in the kitchen and even better to taste their creations. We hope they enjoy the Cordon Vert Diploma and look forward to seeing how inspired they are."   

And Peter Walters from Keele University won a Highly Commended award for his menu of asparagus salad, asparagus bundle, warm asparagus jelly, herb salad in rye bread, melba toast, and croquettes of spicy chick pea mash, rolled in hazelnuts, artichoke crunch, presented on a bed of spinach & sweet potato gnocchi, circled with a sauce of chestnut mushrooms.

Runner up in the contest was Mark Stott of the Ginger Vegetarian Cafe, Halifax. His menu consisted of roasted parsnip & carrot with wholegrain mustard & black pepper croutons for starters, followed by briased tofu & mushroom pie served with trimmed french beans, rosemary roasted potatoes & minted gravy.

National Vegetarian Week runs from 18-24 May and is sponsored by Cauldron Foods.

Words: Maria Bracken

« Back to previous page