The inaugural Atalian Servest Food Co Chef of the Year competition took place last week, celebrating great chef’s and giving them an opportunity to use their passion, skill and talent whilst showcasing their knowledge of the culinary arts.
Based on sustainability, the event, utilised purely “ugly veg” ingredients from our national fruit and vegetable supplier Oliver Kay. Here at Atalian Servest, we promote the use of “ugly veg” and are actively using it more and more in our kitchens. With worldwide food waste being a massive issue we hope that if we can help doing this small thing, it will set a benchmark for others.
The chefs were given guidelines their culinary masterpieces had to follow, and ingredients needed to be available from our nominated suppliers within the Atalian Servest supply chain.
The first dish was solely based on a street food theme and had to be presented in a street food box. The second dish was also based on a street food idea but had to utilise four ingredients from a list of ten, usually associated with being ‘wasted’ in the kitchen.
The ingredients they had to choose from were:
- Cauliflower leaves and stalks
- Broccoli stalks
- Potato peelings
- Bread crusts
- Tomato ends and hearts
- Pepper tops and tails
- Baked beans
The below six finalists came through tough competition to get the platform to showcase their skills.
- Matt Chapman – Area Support Manager, former Chef Manager at Think Central
- Craig Davies – Chef Manager at Soapworks
- Stuart Rose – Chef Manager at Thackrah Court
- Matt Trotter – Chef Manager at Williamson Court
- Charlotte Meeds – Catering Manager at Primark Islip and Thrapston
- Stephen Branch – Catering Manager at Ocado Apollocourt
Dan Farrand, Executive Development Chef, Business & Catering, commented: “The quality of the competition was very high and a good mix of B&I from high end grab n go outlets to large distribution centre background to two finalists from our Healthcare sector. Everyone was in the running with a fantastic selection of the recipes they submitted, however all five of us judging were unanimous in our decision that Matt Chapman was the clear winner”.
Matt’s winning recipes:
- Mexican rainbow tacos, beetroot, spinach and corn taco, one filled with grilled chipotle mango, lime chicken and sriracha, one with cocoa, guajillo, cherry Pepsi pulled pork and sour cream and chive, with the last one filled carne asada (marinated skirt steak) topped with a chipotle crema, Pico de Gallo, pink onions, charred corn, avocado, charred lime and micro coriander.
- Potato peel, baked bean, chorizo and spinach empanada, with broccoli stalk and cauliflower leaf chimichurri
Special thanks must go out to Danny Booth, (National Account Manager) and Oliver Kay for supplying the Fruit and Vegetables as well as supplying the Chefs jackets for the final cookoff. And Unilever’s Sam D. Williams, Steve Wilkes and Paul Wright, for supplying the kitchen and equipment.
