Local heroes at La Parade
Britain's best regional produce will be a central feature of the 2004 La Parade des Chefs at Hotelympia. Salmon and gurnard, venison and pork, apples and Stilton will be just some of the native ingredients that will feature on the menus of the 10 competing teams.
Throughout the five-day exhibition (23-27 February) at ExCel in London's Docklands, two teams each day will prepare, cook and serve a three-course lunch for 100 customers. The cost of the lunch will be £25 per head.
It is the first time that a British theme has been central to the competition and is a result of its sponsorship by Food from Britain. Jane Wakeling, Food from Britain's regional food and drink manager, says that she hopes the 2004 competition will help raise the awareness of the quality of British regional foods. "We want to show what great sourcing opportunities we have right on our doorsteps."
The British theme is certainly one that is popular with the participating chefs. Trevor Nelson, who is team manager of the two Compass teams (ESS Support Services Worldwide and Restaurant Associates) is delighted. "We have great chefs in this country and we also produce great food," he says. "To bring the two elements together will be a great showcase for British chefs and food producers."
Stephen Goodlad, team captain for the Compass Group's Restaurant Associates team, agrees: "For too long there's been the notion that the French are the farmers of Europe, but by using seasonal British produce in our menus we are showcasing our own farmers and suppliers."
Robert Kirby, team captain of the Avenance culinary team, which has won silver and gold medals in the past two La Parade des Chefs at Hotelympia, describes the British theme as "fab".
"All the produce that we will be using will be among the country's best," he says. "The key to success will be to keep dishes simple and let the excellent produce do the talking."
In particular, Kirby highlighted the Lincolnshire rabbit that he and his team will be serving as a starter, alongside black pudding and crispy parsnips, and organic Scottish salmon that will be used in the caramelised open tart with chicory for the main course.
The opportunity for Avenance to be able to serve fish as a main course has come about as the result of a new initiative allowing teams to move away from the traditional practice of serving meat for the entr‚e.
Also serving fish as their main course is one of two teams from abroad - the Jumeirah International culinary team from Dubai (the other international team will be representing the Epicurean World Master Chefs Society of America). Their entrée of Cornish turbot with bubble and squeak and a mussel and leek casserole will follow a terrine of potted chicken and duck.
Team manager Michael Kitts says that working with the British theme is perhaps a little more challenging for his team, particularly as he has been working in Dubai for three years and only three of his team are British. "I've put a few feelers out, but basically we're going with gut instinct and preparing dishes that the customers will want to eat," he says. "The most important thing is for the team to enjoy the event - that way it is more likely that we'll do well."
Most of the teams will prepare fish or seafood as a starter. The Restaurant Associates team, for instance, will serve salmon belly confit with langoustine salad and shellfish mayonnaise, while Team Guernsey will be using fillets of gurnard, accompanied by vine tomatoes and herbs for its starter.
The competition is happening at a time when Guernsey is celebrating 800 years of British independence and consequently the Guernsey menu will be written in old Guernsey patois. So, for their main course, the team will serve pork and scallops with a black pudding and apple houichepote (hotch potch).
For dessert, apples look to be a popular ingredient. Both Compass teams are using apples: the Restaurant Associates team will be preparing an apple charlotte with figs and vanilla custard, while the ESS Support Services Worldwide team will combine them with Stilton to make a pudding that will be accompanied by cinnamon ice-cream. The Avenance team is making a rose and apple sorbet to serve with an English goats' cheesecake.
Each of the 10 teams is made up of six members including a team manager, team captain and one pastry chef. So far, most of them have been practising as individuals on separate components of their menus. But in the final weeks before the competition at the end of February, the teams will be getting together to cook the menus in their entirety.
"The dishes, in terms of flavour and presentation, will be 90% there by Christmas," Kirby says. "From January we will meet once a week and also have at least six pressure runs before the big day. The team will be living, breathing and sleeping the menu. It is important that we cross-train so that everybody knows each other's job."
For members of Team Guernsey, it will be the first time that they will have worked together as a competitive team. "So it is very important that our preparation over the next couple of months is thorough," says team captain David Stringfellow, who is head chef at the island's Village Pavilion restaurant.
The Guernsey team will be holding three major practice cook-offs including one for 30 covers at Café de Moulin in St Pierre du Bois, another for 50 covers at the Guernsey College of Further Education and a final one for 100 covers (the same number that will be catered for at La Parade) at La Grande Mare Hotel on Vazon Bay.
Westminster Kingsway College - the only college team - will be holding a dinner at the college for 100 guests in January to trial the menu. "We will welcome any feedback we receive," says team captain Gary Hunter, who is head of culinary arts at the college. Hunter hopes that his team's main course of a trio of lamb, followed by a treacle tart with an iced lemon posset, will help the college to achieve one better than the silver medal that it won at La Parade at the last Hotelympia in 2002.
"The theme is superb for us," he says. "It's great that we have the opportunity to help extol the virtues of British cooking."
The team travelling the furthest to compete in La Parade is the Texas-based Epicurean World Masters Chef Society of America. Team captain Pat Mitchell, who is executive chef and food and beverage manager at the Marriott Quorum Hotel in Dallas, says that the theme of the competition is a great way to showcase British food.
"We took part in La Parade in 2002 and luckily we have stayed in touch with a lot of the suppliers that we met then," Mitchell says. "We're going to be using some excellent organic salmon from the Outer Hebrides and some wonderful Dorset lamb, which we'll be stuffing with a wild mushroom farce for our main course. We won silver last time and we're definitely aiming for gold in 2004."
Two teams, working in two separate kitchens encased within glass walls - enabling the public to look on at all times - will compete on each day of Hotelympia.
The manager of each team is allowed to work the hot plate only, while the five chefs share the food preparation and cooking. Each team also has to bring their own kitchen porter, but he or she is not allowed to help with any cooking.
As well as following the guidelines of using the best of British produce, the teams have to ensure that all their courses are plated. The starter can be either hot or cold, but soup is not allowed. The main course has to incorporate a vegetable garnish on the plate, and desserts can be either hot or cold.
Visitors to Hotelympia who would like to eat lunch in La Parade should go to the La Parade stand soon after arriving at the exhibition to book their tickets for that day's event. Lunch service will begin at 12.30pm each day.
The teams
Avenance Culinary Team. Team captain: Robert Kirby
ESS Support Services Worldwide - Compass Group. Team captain: Richard Bowden
Restaurant Associates - Compass Group. Team captain: Stephen Goodlad
Epicurean World Master Chefs Society of America. Team captain: Patrick Mitchell
Jumeirah International, Dubai. Team manager: Michael Kitts
Royal Air Force. Team captain: Lee Corke
Sodexho UK. Team manager: Peter Joyner
Team Guernsey. Team captain: David Stringfellow
Ulster Culinary Team. Team captain: Anthony Armstrong10 Westminster Kingsway College. Team captain: Gary Hunter
Judging
Stan Berwick will be heading the panel that will judge the 10 teams competing in La Parade des Chefs. The maximum marks that can be achieved in the event are as follows:
Mise-en-place: 10
Professional skills/preparation: 30
Presentation: 30; Taste: 30
hotelympia 2004
Dates: Monday 23 to Friday 27 February 2004
Venue: ExCel, London Docklands
Opening times: 9.30am to 5.30pm
(except Friday: 9.30am to 4pm)
To register: telephone 0870 4294644
or visit www.hotelympia.com
Nearest transport link: Custom House
(Docklands Light Railway); Custom House (Silverlink rail service); Canning Town (Jubilee Line Underground)
