House of Commons winner of Loire Valley lamb's lettuce contest

For the second year running, a chef from the House of Commons has won the UK final of the International Loire Valley Lamb's Lettuce Association's competition.

For the second year running, a chef from the House of Commons has won the UK final of the International Loire Valley Lamb's Lettuce Association's competition.

Winning sous chef Nick Chapman follows in the footsteps of last year's winner sous chef Mark Errington.

With his innovative use of lamb's lettuce [mâche] as an ingredient in three recipe categories – gourmet, healthy eating and rapid cuisine – he beat off stiff competition from two other London based chefs: executive sous chef Stefan Greubel of the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, and Ilker Yokus, junior sous chef of Le Meridien Hotel in Piccadilly.

His dishes were:
Healthy eating – seared and cured halibut with mâche jelly, celeriac purée, girolle mushrooms and red wine crème fraîche that included lamb's lettuce in a jelly as well as wilted as an accompaniment

Gourmet – saddle and rack of rabbit with offal salad that included wilted and puréed mâche

Rapid cuisine – seared scallops and foie gras that included the leaves presented as a foam in a small kilner jar along with a dressing for the fish in a kilner jar – all creatively and beautifully presented on a slate board rather than a plate

Now in its second year as an international event, with finals simultaneously taking place in three countries – France, Spain and the UK – it is held to position Loire Valley lamb's lettuce in the foodservice sector as a salad leaf that fits well with modern European consumption trends.

The competition promotes it as a versatile, healthy, convenient and tasty leaf at the same time as providing up and coming chefs with the opportunity to compete on an international level.

Judges for the competition were Mark Errington, Sopexa's food PR manager Claire Fraser, and Craft Guild of Chefs CEO Martin Bates. The latter will also be judging the grand international final in the Loire Valley in France on November 5-6 when the individual country's champions will compete against each other.

Words: Sheila Eggleston

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