12th April 2013
Summer 2008: What a week
From chefs getting competitive in the salon culinaire to creative cookery demos in the Skillery, this year's Hotelympia was full to the brim with culinary action
After months of planning and practising, the Craft Guild's Culinary Academy made its competition debut at Hotelympia in February, when junior chefs were paired with mentors from the academy panel to battle it out in a host of competitions in the Salon Culinaire.
The new academy team, sponsored by Electrolux, Essential Cuisine and Gourmet Classic, entered the salon's flagship event – the Open Team Grand Prix – in which the young chefs took control of La Parade kitchen on the Wednesday of the show as well as participating in the cold buffet.
Double silver was awarded for these events, which team captain Andy Twells says is a real achievement. “We were over the moon with the result because we are in the process of building something for the future. If we got gold first time, what would there be to aspire to? As well as silver in La Parade, we were awarded silver in the buffet, and the judges commented that it was not far off being a gold.”
Aside from a practice run for the Parade menu, which was made possible by Philip Clarke at the Tara Copthorne Hotel, it was the first time the young chefs had worked together, with team members coming from catering backgrounds as diverse as Eton College and the House of Commons. “The unique aspect of the academy is that each chef stems from a different company, bringing together individual talents and expertise to teach competition skills through mentoring from senior members,” says Twells. “This makes the team's achievements at Hotelympia pretty amazing and shows how invaluable the new academy is to the industry.”
The Parade team comprised team manager Dennis Mwakulua, Sophie Wright who worked on the starters, James Davis and Steve Wilson on mains, with Lisa Mansell on desserts and Matt Owens working across all sections.
The menu, served to 100 paying diners, comprised a starter of confit of wild salmon, spiced crab fritter, ceviche of mackerel with crab oil salsa and aromatic salad, followed by Gressingham duck breast, which was lightly smoked in Lapsang Souchong tea and finished with a fig and balsamic glaze. This was accompanied by a duck leg parcel with winter fruits on a cassoulet of vegetables, with dauphinoise potato. Dessert was entitled ‘the best of Britain' with a trio of British inspired creations – raspberry ripple parfait, lemon curd sponge pudding and baked custard tart.
In addition to the 100 covers in the main restaurant, a chef's table of six diners sat within the kitchen and were not only treated to a front row view of the team in action but also enjoyed two extra courses – an amuse bouche of poached quail's egg with field mushroom and truffle hollandaise and a pre dessert of vanilla with pink champagne and rhubarb granita.
A colourful and creative showcase of culinary talent caught the eyes of visitors and judges alike when the academy presented its debut entry into the Open Team Cold Buffet.
Each junior member took charge of a different section of the buffet, mentored by a member of the academy panel.
Davis, mentored by Mike Godfrey, created the starters that included dishes such as pressed terrine of rabbit with Berkshire ham hock and croquette of Shropshire Blue with garden herbs and brioche muffin. Wright, mentored by Vince Cottam, created a cold platter focusing on turkey – “we wanted to do something different, not the usual lamb or venison”, complete with turkey feathers made from taco pastry, liver parfait and cranberry jelly. The main course plates were prepared by Wilson with help from his mentor Mark Hill and included dishes such as pan fried red mullet, cassoulet of langoustine, edamame beans, baby leeks and tomato, seafood boudin, ravioli of asparagus with saffron and parsley foam, pancetta crisp.
Mwakulua took charge of the tapas/finger food category, drawing inspiration from his winning menu in last year's London Chef of the Year competition. “The egg Benedict with quails egg and truffle hollandaise was the amuse bouche I entered in the London Chef of the Year and the escabeche of shellfish was the winning starter dish – showing the use of marinating and slow cooking, which is so trendy today,” explains Mwakulua. Other dishes included a fish pie with pea salsa and garlic foam, which comprised a small slice of haddock topped with a lattice of potatoes – “a traditional English dish with a modern twist”.
The three course meal for one was prepared by Larry Jayasekara, mentored by Twells, and was a recreation of La Parade menu. Twells also created the buffet showpiece, which was modelled on the chef character Linguini from the hit film Ratatouille: “I wanted to introduce an element of youth and fun to what is often quite a serious display.”
A mouthwatering dessert platter and the plated desserts were created by Mansell, with the help of mentor Owens. Demonstrating some creative twists on classic desserts, dishes included a tropical fruit baked Alaska with pomegranate salsa, an Austrian quark and golden raisin strudel with vanilla ice cream and mulled fruit, and a Black Forest truffle with wild cherry coulis.
Speaking after the event Twells said he was impressed with the way the team worked together: “Each junior had a mentor from design through to execution and not only did they work well on their own entries, they were very keen to help each other out, and there was a great sense of humour running through the team, which is important. We got the junior team to do as much as possible so they learn. We want these guys to be the senior members by the time the next Olympia comes around and to be inspiring their own youngsters. It's really an evolution.”
Other Culinary Academy entries at the show included the Master Chefs Grand Prix in which Christopher Basten, Lahiru Jayasekara and Liz Bravery (pictured above) were given just 90 minutes to create a four-course meal from a mystery basket of ingredients, including Gressingham duck, scallops and sea bass. They were awarded a merit for their menu which comprised: an amuse bouche of chargrilled scallop, oriental vegetables, balsamic dressing; a starter of pan seared fillet of bass, baby spinach, garlic purée and red wine jus; roast breast of duck, thyme infused root vegetables, pan juices; and a dessert of orange tart and rhubarb ice cream.
Individual entries from other academy members included a silver for Andy Wilcock in the Essential Cuisine Challenge.
The new academy team, sponsored by Electrolux, Essential Cuisine and Gourmet Classic, entered the salon's flagship event – the Open Team Grand Prix – in which the young chefs took control of La Parade kitchen on the Wednesday of the show as well as participating in the cold buffet.
Double silver was awarded for these events, which team captain Andy Twells says is a real achievement. “We were over the moon with the result because we are in the process of building something for the future. If we got gold first time, what would there be to aspire to? As well as silver in La Parade, we were awarded silver in the buffet, and the judges commented that it was not far off being a gold.”
Aside from a practice run for the Parade menu, which was made possible by Philip Clarke at the Tara Copthorne Hotel, it was the first time the young chefs had worked together, with team members coming from catering backgrounds as diverse as Eton College and the House of Commons. “The unique aspect of the academy is that each chef stems from a different company, bringing together individual talents and expertise to teach competition skills through mentoring from senior members,” says Twells. “This makes the team's achievements at Hotelympia pretty amazing and shows how invaluable the new academy is to the industry.”
The Parade team comprised team manager Dennis Mwakulua, Sophie Wright who worked on the starters, James Davis and Steve Wilson on mains, with Lisa Mansell on desserts and Matt Owens working across all sections.
The menu, served to 100 paying diners, comprised a starter of confit of wild salmon, spiced crab fritter, ceviche of mackerel with crab oil salsa and aromatic salad, followed by Gressingham duck breast, which was lightly smoked in Lapsang Souchong tea and finished with a fig and balsamic glaze. This was accompanied by a duck leg parcel with winter fruits on a cassoulet of vegetables, with dauphinoise potato. Dessert was entitled ‘the best of Britain' with a trio of British inspired creations – raspberry ripple parfait, lemon curd sponge pudding and baked custard tart.
In addition to the 100 covers in the main restaurant, a chef's table of six diners sat within the kitchen and were not only treated to a front row view of the team in action but also enjoyed two extra courses – an amuse bouche of poached quail's egg with field mushroom and truffle hollandaise and a pre dessert of vanilla with pink champagne and rhubarb granita.
A colourful and creative showcase of culinary talent caught the eyes of visitors and judges alike when the academy presented its debut entry into the Open Team Cold Buffet.
Each junior member took charge of a different section of the buffet, mentored by a member of the academy panel.
Davis, mentored by Mike Godfrey, created the starters that included dishes such as pressed terrine of rabbit with Berkshire ham hock and croquette of Shropshire Blue with garden herbs and brioche muffin. Wright, mentored by Vince Cottam, created a cold platter focusing on turkey – “we wanted to do something different, not the usual lamb or venison”, complete with turkey feathers made from taco pastry, liver parfait and cranberry jelly. The main course plates were prepared by Wilson with help from his mentor Mark Hill and included dishes such as pan fried red mullet, cassoulet of langoustine, edamame beans, baby leeks and tomato, seafood boudin, ravioli of asparagus with saffron and parsley foam, pancetta crisp.
Mwakulua took charge of the tapas/finger food category, drawing inspiration from his winning menu in last year's London Chef of the Year competition. “The egg Benedict with quails egg and truffle hollandaise was the amuse bouche I entered in the London Chef of the Year and the escabeche of shellfish was the winning starter dish – showing the use of marinating and slow cooking, which is so trendy today,” explains Mwakulua. Other dishes included a fish pie with pea salsa and garlic foam, which comprised a small slice of haddock topped with a lattice of potatoes – “a traditional English dish with a modern twist”.
The three course meal for one was prepared by Larry Jayasekara, mentored by Twells, and was a recreation of La Parade menu. Twells also created the buffet showpiece, which was modelled on the chef character Linguini from the hit film Ratatouille: “I wanted to introduce an element of youth and fun to what is often quite a serious display.”
A mouthwatering dessert platter and the plated desserts were created by Mansell, with the help of mentor Owens. Demonstrating some creative twists on classic desserts, dishes included a tropical fruit baked Alaska with pomegranate salsa, an Austrian quark and golden raisin strudel with vanilla ice cream and mulled fruit, and a Black Forest truffle with wild cherry coulis.
Speaking after the event Twells said he was impressed with the way the team worked together: “Each junior had a mentor from design through to execution and not only did they work well on their own entries, they were very keen to help each other out, and there was a great sense of humour running through the team, which is important. We got the junior team to do as much as possible so they learn. We want these guys to be the senior members by the time the next Olympia comes around and to be inspiring their own youngsters. It's really an evolution.”
Other Culinary Academy entries at the show included the Master Chefs Grand Prix in which Christopher Basten, Lahiru Jayasekara and Liz Bravery (pictured above) were given just 90 minutes to create a four-course meal from a mystery basket of ingredients, including Gressingham duck, scallops and sea bass. They were awarded a merit for their menu which comprised: an amuse bouche of chargrilled scallop, oriental vegetables, balsamic dressing; a starter of pan seared fillet of bass, baby spinach, garlic purée and red wine jus; roast breast of duck, thyme infused root vegetables, pan juices; and a dessert of orange tart and rhubarb ice cream.
Individual entries from other academy members included a silver for Andy Wilcock in the Essential Cuisine Challenge.