Immaculate confections
Young pastry chefs are going to be given the opportunity to shine at the new-style Culinary Theatre being organised for Hospitality Week 2003 at the NEC, Birmingham.
The theatre will host a broad range of competitions during the course of the exhibition (20-23 January 2003), including one for student pastry chefs. Comprising four kitchens built around a central viewing area, it will replace the traditional Salon Culinaire, which has long been the focus of culinary competitions at the UK's two premier catering exhibitions, Hotelympia and Hospitality Week. Salon Culinaire International de Londres is still set to run at Hotelympia in 2004, which will be held for the first time at ExCel in London's Docklands.
Claire Finch, show director at organisers Fresh RM, explains her reason for introducing a new feature at the show. "Hospitality Week needs a new face to its competition," she says. "Hotelympia delivers a very successful Salon Culinaire, but Hospitality Week needs to encompass a wider cross section of the industry, recognising the importance of cost sector, contract catering and the growth of gastropubs.
"The new format will ensure that all teams compete on a level playing field, so that competitors from the larger organisations do not get months to prepare and practise and then compete against teams who do not have that luxury."
About 17,000 visitors are expected to visit the NEC for Hospitality Week, where they will have the opportunity to tour 400 exhibition stands.
For William Curley, who runs wholesale pâtissiers Pâtisserie One and is pastry adviser to the exhibition organisers, the new-style pastry competition, in particular, is an opportunity to inspire a new generation of pâtissiers. "It will also be an occasion where there will be some focus on an area that rarely gets any limelight," he says.
Compared with general cookery competitions, competitive events for pâtissiers have for some time been thin on the ground in the UK, particularly when compared with nations like France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Historically, these countries have a strong apprentice system for pastry chefs, stemming from a deep cultural appreciation of high-quality pâtisserie work. Hence, prestigious pâtisserie competitions on the Continent have developed and thrived.
Curley, 31, has himself competed in many of these events and appreciates only too well the value that they have for the development of a pastry chef.
"Looking at how I've grown over the years, I can see that my grounding has come from the experience I have gained from working in some of the best kitchens in the country - but the innovation has undoubtedly come through my competitive work," he says.
Curley worked for Pierre Koffmann, Raymond Blanc and Marco Pierre White before becoming pastry chef at the Savoy hotel, London. Pâtisserie One, which was set up in Hinckley, Leicestershire, two years ago, currently includes Waitrose and Marks & Spencer among its clients.
Curley's competition success has included the Academy of Culinary Arts' Annual Awards of Excellence in 1996 and the top prize in the Dessert of the Year competition organised in the same year by the Association of Pastry Chefs. Curley's winning dish for the latter competition was autumn red cherry apples (a Calvados and apple parfait between layers of fine Granny Smith apple wafers on a sabl‚ base, served with a red cherry and cinnamon sauce).
But it is Curley's experience in competitions in Europe that has opened his eyes to what can be achieved - in particular, competing as a member of the Scottish Culinary Team at the 2000 Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, and then as part of the first British team to take part in the Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie - or the World Pastry Cup - at Lyons, France, in 2001.
"Competitions open you up to the bigger picture, and I hope that is what the students will find when they take part in the pastry competition at Hospitality Week," says Curley. He believes the young competitors will be inspired by being judged by some of the top pastry chefs in the country, including Tony Hoyle, pastry chef at the Dorchester hotel, London.
With four competitions in the Electrolux-sponsored Culinary Theatre each day, there will be a total of 16 events taking place throughout the course of Hospitality Week. The student pastry event will account for just one competition; the others will see teams from universities, pubs, schools, business and industry, hotels, restaurants and the Services doing battle with one another.
All of the competitions will involve four teams, each made up of two chefs and an assistant. A mystery basket of ingredients will be presented to the teams 30 minutes before the start of the competition. After discussion between team members, the students will then have a further 30-60 minutes to cook and serve their dishes.
Curley, who will put together the mystery basket for the pastry competition, hopes that the students will use their planning time to draw on inspiration from books as well as from their lecturers. "I hope that they will build on a traditional base to come up with some innovative ideas," he says. "And it is important that that they show their different skills in the final dish. It is often hard to beat a really good bread and butter pudding or lemon tart, but if they do something classic it would also be good to finish the dish with something that will make it stand out."
Among those taking part in the pastry competition will be teams from Bournemouth & Poole College, Glenrothes College and Sheffield College.
"It is an excellent idea for students to get involved in competitions like this, especially a pastry one, as there are not many of those around," says Scott Lyall, chef lecturer at Glenrothes College. "It will be a great meeting point for all the competitors and will provide them with a certain discipline which will benefit them throughout their careers."
Organised teamwork
Gary Filbey, head of pâtisserie, confectionery and bakery at Bournemouth & Poole College, agrees. "The competitors will have to learn to work together as a team and be thoroughly organised. Having to produce a dish from a mystery basket will also stand them in good stead for the future."
Filbey says that he will help his students - who are all studying for their NVQ level 3 qualification - prepare for the competition by giving them a selection of different mystery baskets of ingredients to practise with. "I hope they will consider the eating quality of the dish that they produce, as well as the way it looks. It is also important that they get the basic components of what they produce technically correct."
For Curley himself, overseeing the pastry event at the Culinary Theatre will mark the start of a busy week. On 26 and 27 January he will be in Lyons again, competing for Britain alongside team-mates Tony Hoyle and ice-carver Jonathan Lloyd in his second Coupe du Monde. More than 20 countries will be taking part in the event, which involves nine hours of competition for each team. Life as a competition chef, it seems, is an ongoing challenge.
There is still a chance for teams to enter some of the competition categories at the Culinary Theatre. For more information contact Tricia Ninian on 020 7720 3689, or via e-mail on niniansleigh@btinternet.com.
Hospitality Week 2003
Hospitality Week 2003 will take place at Birmingham's NEC from 20 to 23 January in halls 18, 19 and 20. For further details go to www.hospitalityweek.com.
