Competition round-up
Wishart named Scottish chef of the year Edinburgh's one-Michelin-starred chef, Martin Wishart, has been recognised for his contribution to fine dining in Scotland in Catering in Scotland magazine's Excellence Awards. Wishart was named Chef of the Year and his eponymous restaurant was recognised with the title Restaurant of the Year. The awards are organised by the magazine in association with the Federation of Chefs Scotland.
World barbecue championships The sixth World Barbecue Championships are set to take place next month at Pirmasens in Germany on 4-6 June. About 70 teams from around the world will meet in the German city for a festival of music and food, and to compete across several barbecuing categories.There is still a limited number of spaces available for teams to enter. For more information and rules visit www.wbqa.com or contact international head judge Jeremy Fowler on 0118 972 3552 or jeremy.fowler@hq.world-bbq.com.
National Business Awards Bankside restaurant is one of several catering and hospitality businesses shortlisted for this year's National Business Awards. The London restaurant, located on the Southwark side of the River Thames near Shakespeare's Globe theatre, is up for the Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year honour in the South-east of England category. Also up for gongs in the south-eastern region are Charlton House Catering Services (Business of the Year) and Queens Moat House Hotels (Customer Focus Award). In the Midlands region, Kraft Foods (Customer Focus Award), Alan and Graham Wright of Freshway Foods (Entrepreneur of the Year) and Punch Taverns (Business of the Year) are in the final countdown. The National Business Awards winners will be announced on 8 July.
Thanet College National Juniorchef Gary Rhodes returned to his old stamping ground of Thanet College in Kent last month to judge its annual National Juniorchef competition. Although the event is staged at Thanet, it is open to all schoolchildren aged 16 and under around the UK. This year's winner, Leanne Parisot (left, with Rhodes), is a student at the Colchester Institute. The competition, which stretched over three days, required its five finalists to cook a two-course meal, main and dessert, on the final day. Parisot got the thumbs-up for her main course of North Sea cod and Cromer crab torte with a tarragon, tomato and purple shallot butter sauce, served with saffron-braised basmati rice and broad beans, and a dessert of panna cotta with rhubarb compote and copeaux biscuits.
