Combined Services team wins Nestlé Master Chefs cook-off

A mystery box of ingredients in the Nestlé Master Chefs Grand Prix helped create one of the most exciting competitions of the Live Theatre.

With a packed audience watching on, the Combined Services Arts Team cooked their way to victory as they rose to the challenge of creating a four-course meal for two from the raw materials they were presented with at the start of the one-and-a-half hour contest.

Red mullet, smoked haddock, chicken, black pudding, chorizo sausage and bacon were among the key ingredients facing the ten teams as they opened their boxes.

The winning team of Graham Wilkinson, Dave Galpin and Bill Ferguson was inspired to cook parsnip soup with crispy chorizo and wilted spinach; duo of pan-fried cod and red mullet served with herb risotto and ratatouille sauce; chicken supreme with black pudding farce, fondant potatoes, creamed cabbage and bacon; and chocolate soufflé, caramel ice cream and glazed pear.

The judging panel, chaired by Brian Jones of the Royal Naval College, Plymouth and including Anton Edelmann of London's Savoy hotel and Paul Gayler of the Lanesborough hotel, awarded a gold medal to the Combined Services Arts Team for producing "an outstanding menu that we would all be happy to sit down and eat each course."

"All their dishes were nicely executed and seasoned," they said.

Other medals awarded in the class included a second gold to the team from Burhill Golf Club, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey; two silvers to the teams from the Panel of Chefs of Ireland and Claridge's in London; and bronze to the Compass Group UK and Ireland Culinary Team.