Countess of Wessex attends 50th anniversary celebrations of Craft Guild of Chefs
Nearly 200 guests were welcomed by Sophie, Countess of Wessex to St James's Palace last night to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Craft Guild of Chefs.
The occasion was the highlight of a series of events being held throughout the year to mark the guild's foundation, which was launched at the Berners hotel (now the London Edition) in 1965 to preserve the traditional art of cooking against the perceived threat of pre-packaged food.
Canapés served throughout the evening were prepared by students from City of Glasgow College, who won a competition last month to cater for the function.
The students impressed a panel of judges, including the Countess of Wessex, the guild's royal patron, at a cook-off held at Buckingham Palace, in which they competed alongside London School of Hospitality & Tourism, University of West London, and South Eastern Regional College, Downpatrick Campus, Northern Ireland.
Royal chef Mark Flanagan, who was also a judge together with national chairman of the guild, Chris Basten, oversaw the students at they prepared last night's canapés.
Gary Maclean, the City of Glasgow team leader, said: "We based the canapés on large dishes, where we knew the flavours worked together, and we miniaturised them."
The winning team was made up of Darren Seggie, Lenka Faksova, Murray Alexander, Nicolle Finnie and Maria Anderson.
Their selection of six canapés included homemade black pudding with apple pearls and crispy shallots; chicken confit and avocado, with cucumber and red chilli; and rhubarb custard and crumble.