YCYW honours go to first-time contenders

Two first-time competitors scooped the titles at the 2001 American Express Young Chef Young Waiter competition last month.

Neither Jason Birkbeck nor François Labarre had any competition experience before the regional finals - held in September at colleges in Bournemouth and St Helen's - at which they were among 32 chefs and 32 waiters selected from the hundreds of entries received by organiser the Restaurant Association.

Birkbeck, junior sous chef at Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire, followed in the footsteps of colleague Warrick Dodds, who clinched the Young Chef title in 1999. "I had lots of advice from Warrick on balancing flavours," said Birkbeck, whose menu - cappuccino of mussels and fennel with a fennel seed naan bread; loin of pork, kidney and spinach beignet, carrot and orange purée and pink gooseberry jus; and lemon parfait with a mini pear crumble and crême anglaise - achieved top marks for composition and was described by judges as "the best-balanced menu by far".

The task in hand for the eight chef finalists was to cook a three-course lunch for six covers in three-and-a-half hours. The chefs had free interpretation for the starter but for the main course were each provided with a 3kg middle-cut loin of pork. "I chose pork because people don't cook it much," said the chairman of the judges for the chefs competition, John Torode. "They were given the whole loin, which they had to bone out, so there were lots of bits to use such as fillets, loin and kidney."

The choice of meat proved troublesome for some of the finalists, but not for Birkbeck, who was aware of the potential problems. "Pork is a difficult meat to cook, because it can get too dry if roasted," he said, "so I wrapped it in pancetta and poached it to keep it moist."

While the decision to place Birkbeck first was unanimous, the battle for second and third places was more closely fought, with Ben Turner, chef de partie at London's Orrery restaurant, just edging ahead of Peter Eaton, demi chef de partie at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxfordshire. Turner's presentation of a trio of pork with sauce Robert was declared "brilliant" by John Burton-Race, while the panel was impressed with the "delicious" and "juicy" beans in Eaton's main course.

For dessert, the finalists were presented with a basket of ingredients on the morning of the competition. These included vanilla beans, flour, unsalted butter, caster sugar, eggs, ground almonds, milk, whipping cream, short-grain rice, gelatine, sambuca, lemons and pears. Birkbeck opted for the simple approach and prepared a mini pear crumble, having confessed to one of the judges that he wasn't too confident with desserts. It proved to be the right choice when it was declared the best pud on the table. "It's nice and simple," said Chris Galvin, "with a nice crunch to the crumble."

Four of the six covers prepared by the chef competitors were then served by the eight waiter finalists to invited lunch guests. Each waiter welcomed four guests and served them Champagne and canapés prior to lunch service. Throughout the competition waiters were marked on such things as mise en place, service and clearing of courses, tidiness of station, disposition and wine service.

They were also judged on their ability to deal with unplanned circumstances when they had to cope with one of four staged events acted out by guests during service. The events were the spillage of a glass of wine; coffee/tea upset in the saucer; the lighting of a cigarette in a non-smoking area; and a complaint about a garnish.

Earlier in the day the finalists were given four practical activities to complete - open and decant a bottle of wine into a carafe; prepare, cut and light a cigar for a guest to smoke; lay up a table for two people for a four-course table d'hôte menu; and prepare a selection of sorbet in three styles, quenelle, curl and ball.

"We tried to gear this year's competition towards guéridon service, because customers like a bit of cinema," said Annie Schwab, who chaired the panel of judges for the waiters competition. "We're moving away from fast and furious and going back to service. Customers like to see the skill of the waiter, and it's so nice to be served by young people who know what they're doing and can answer questions."

For the panel, Labarre was everything a waiter should be. "He showed tremendous attention to detail and knowledge," said Schwab. "It would be a privilege to be served by him." Trained at college in Nantes, France, Labarre has been in the UK for nearly three years and joined Orrery six months ago. "I had been working in a country house hotel but moved to London to see something different," he said. "I've had lots of encouragement from people at work, particularly Gabriel [Danis, a fellow competitor]."

Clemens Mair, a waiter at Oxo Tower restaurant, London, and Luciano Racca, chef de rang at London's Dorchester hotel, were placed second and third respectively in their first attempt at the competition. The judges were impressed by the overall standard, particularly the knowledge of wine displayed by the waiters.

All 16 finalists will visit the Champagne region, courtesy of Louis Roederer, while Birkbeck and Labarre win a trip to San Francisco, including a visit to Ernest and Julio Gallo's Sonoma vineyards.

The finalists

Chefs

Anthony Rush, 22, second chef, Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Anke Hartman, 22, demi chef, Chewton Glen hotel, New Milton, Hampshire
Ben Turner, 24, chef de partie, Orrery, London
Luca de Negri, 23, first commis, Le Gavroche, London
Jason Birkbeck, 23, junior sous chef, Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire
Peter Eaton, 24, demi chef de partie, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Great Milton, Oxfordshire
Toby Runyeard, 22, second chef, Morston Hall hotel, Norfolk
Paul Hill, 25, personal chef to Sir Paul Getty, Stokenchurch, Buckinghamshire

Waiters

Luciano Racca, 23, chef de rang, Dorchester, London
Maria Steckermeier, 25, Palm Court manager, Sheraton Park Lane, London
Gabriel Danis, 25, sommelier, Orrery, London
Franck Lepinay, 23, head waiter, Ritz hotel, London
Kate Chamberlain, 23, restaurant manager, Devonshire Arms, Skipton
François Labarre, 25, chef de rang, Orrery, London
Clemens Mair, 24, waiter, Oxo Tower restaurant, London
Matt Wilson, 20, chef de rang, Lanesborough, London

The judges

Chefs
John Torode (chair), Smiths of Smithfield; Nick Lander, Financial Times; John Burton-Race, Landmark; Michael Caines, Gidleigh Park; Chris Galvin, Orrery restaurant; Bruce Poole, Chez Bruce

Waiters
Annie Schwab (chair), Winteringham Fields; Craig Bancroft, Northcote Manor; Didier Garnier, Le Colombier; Eric Garnier, Fish!; Patrick Fischnaller, Orrery restaurant; Patrick Gaillard, Chewton Glen; David Loewi, Conran Restaurants

by Diane Lane