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Caribbean Masterchef Competition |
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The Caribbean
Masterchef competition took place at Hotelympia in Excel Exhibition Centre
23rd February 2004. It
was sponsored by Silverstone Foods, Accredited Services and Westminster
Kingsway College. Peter Richards, Senior Chef Lecturer at Westminister
Kingsway, organized the space and judging while Dawn Grant of Caribbean Food
Emporium commissioned the chefs. Judging the competition were Peter Richards, George Conway of Divine Morsels, Garfield Davidson of Ting N Ting. The criteria for the marks and weighting were as follows:
The chefs had been
asked to prepare a 3 course meal in one and a half hours, from fresh
ingredients. No mis en
place was allowed. No
I don't know what that means, but I presume its similar to don't precook or
pre-prepare the food before hand. The audience were to
be people from the British Hotel and Catering Industry including many top
chefs. Hotelympia takes
place bi-annually, and is host to about 20,000 visitors per day.
About 400 watched the Caribbean Masterchef Competition.
It was an ideal stage to showcase Caribbean Chefs at their finest.
The make up of the audience was about 97% English. Chefs who took part were as follows in order of position · Winner: Jocelyn Trefle of Le Delice Catering business and Cottons Restaurant in Camden. Received diploma and Craft Guild of Chefs Gold Medal. · Tied 2nd place: Didier Le Berre formerly of Cottons, but now of Franny Panny in Anguilla. Received diploma and Craft Guild of Chefs Silver Medal. · Tied 2nd place: Roger Fothergill of Indies Restaurant in Greenwich. Received diploma and Craft Guild of Chefs Silver Medal. · Third place: Brian Benjamin of BB Crabbacks in Ealing. Received diploma and Craft Guild of Chefs Bronze Medal. · Fourth place: Colin Brown of Mr Jerk Take Away/Restaurant, Soho. Received a Merit Certificate. All men, and all very handsome I might add. Is it true that the top chefs are always men? The dishes were professionally prepared and well presented.Jocelyn was very pleased that he had won, and seemingly surprised too. He is very talented, and will go far. His presentation, efficiency, and taste of his dishes carried the points in his favour. He plans to open a restaurant at some point in the future called Le Delice. He is French Caribbean. Didier was the speed king. He finished after one hour, and sat around twiddling his thumbs waiting for the others to finish. Didier had won the Caribbean chef competition held at the Caribbean Food and Drink Expo in September 2003, and was keen to add to his tally. Didier also has a French connection, with a French mother and Jamaican father. He was brought up in Jamaica, but did his chef training in France. Indies has recently opened in Greenwich, with two floors. Roger Fothergill is head chef there. His menu was ideal for vegetarians, and anyone else who wanted something different. Brian serves up the most delicious meals at BB Crabbacks in Ealing. Worth a visit at least 3 times a year, no matter where you live. His experience at top establishments such as the Savoy have stood him in good stead. He then takes the best of the Caribbean and the fusion is a dream. Colin is a talented chef, not yet fully stretched. He created a cake from start to finish, and iced it within one hour and 20 minutes, while doing the first course and main course. He recalls making dishes in Jamaican restaurants, where one course would cost £40. Above average, even by UK standards. The Caribbean Masterchefs will appear at the Caribbean Cuisine Consortium Networking Event on Monday 22nd March 2004 at Bamboula Restaurant, 12 Acre Lane Brixton, SW2. All Welcome. Entry £15. Meal provided. Telephone 020 8500 4878 to book place.
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