Winner takes all
Take six of the best chefs, give them two classic French dishes to cook, pit them against each other in a five-and-a-half hour competition and you have the UK finals of the Prix Pierre Taittinger.
At stake was the honour of representing the UK at the Paris finals of this prestigious international competition in November. The competition was founded 30 years ago by Claude Taittinger, president and director general of Champagne Taittinger, in memory of his gastronome father, Pierre.
The six finalists - aged between 24 and 39 - had to cook a personal recipe using a cushion of veal, accompanied by a chartreuse of sweetbreads served with a hot cream sauce. A set dish of soufflé Cointreau completed the test.
To make it as fair as possible, the veal and sweetbreads were provided and pre-preparation of other ingredients was strictly forbidden. The eight judges knew the competitors by numbers only.
Invigilators made sure there was no breaching of the rules, while chairman of the judges Marjan Lesnik, former executive chef at Claridge's, kept a beady eye on his colleagues, to check they did not unduly influence each other during the tastings.
Lesnik, a former winner of the UK PPT, and acutely aware of the pressures such a competition imposes on chefs, was concerned that not enough employers were providing chefs with the encouragement and support needed to participate in important competitions.
"Everybody is worried about the bottom line. It is a residue from the recession, when staff numbers were cut to the bone," Lesnik said. "Chefs are expected to work almost 24 hours a day and then research and train for competitions in their spare time. Without back-up and encouragement at work, they think twice about entering these events."
The finalists were: Yannick Daniel (sous chef, Monte's, London), Simon Davey (sous chef, Tower Thistle Hotel, London), Scott McCrae (sous chef, One Devonshire Gardens, Edinburgh), Thierry Obitz (sous chef, Boodle's, London), Derek Quelch (senior sous chef, Claridge's, London) and Stuart Rivron (sous chef, Café Royal Grill Room, London).
