Winners 2009
Pub chefs from across the UK battled it out in a series of cook-offs in a bid to be crowned Pub Chef of the Year 2009.
The 34 chefs competed in cook-off finals in the PubChef Food Excellence Awards at the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board at Milton Keynes.
Judges included Alastair Sawday's Pubs & Inns Guide editor David Hancock, Which? Good Food Guide editor Elizabeth Carter, Craft Guild of Chefs Chief Executive Martin Bates and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge who will be tasting dishes across 10 categories including young chef, global cuisine, game, bar dishes, seafood, pub classics, team, poultry, desserts and meat.
Winners were announced on the 12 March at the PubChef Food Excellence Awards at Plaisterers' Hall, London. The Pub Chef of the Year 2009 had the honour of having their winning menu served to the 300 guests at the awards night.
The PubChef Food Excellence Awards 2009 Pub Company winners were:
Food Pub Manager
Alex Tipping
The Royal Oak, Poynings, West Sussex.
Unbranded Food Operator of the Year
Innventure
The Tun House, Whitwell, Herts
Branded Food Operator of the Year
Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants
Whitbread Court, Dunstable
Food Concept of the Year
Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants
Whitbread Court, Dunstable
Catering Devepment Professional
Sam Pedder
Admiral Taverns, Wimbledon Village, London
Green Initiative of the Year (Food)
The Mill Race
Walford, Herefordshire
The PubChef Food Excellence Awards 2009 chefs' competition winners were:
Pub Chef of the Year 2009
Michael Ward
The Highwayman Inn, Nether Burrow, Lancashire
Young Pub Chef
Ben Abercrombie
Helyar Arms, Yeovil, Somerset
Dish: Roast guinea fowl breast with confit leg with parsnip and vannila puree and moreel and huffle jus
Global Cuisine
Simon Goodman
The Duke of Cumberland Arms, Fernhurst, West Sussex
Dish: Organic salmon, selsey crab thai potato cake, mange tout, sweet chilli butter and baby samphire
Game
Michael Ward
The Highwayman, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire
Dish: Partridge with black pudding croquet, creamed mash, Forages bacon and juniper sauce
Bar dishes
Mathieu Eke
The Helyar Arms, Yeovil, Somerset
Dish: Probably the best steak sandwich in the world
Seafood
Michael McBride
The Shoulder of Mutton Inn, Kirky Overblow, North Yorkshire
Dish: Pan fried fillets of black bream, saffron potatoes and cabbage
Pub Classics
Philip Milner
The Orange Tree, Thornham, King's Lynn, Norfolk
Dish: Chargrilled cornfed chicken and mushroom pie, smoked bacon mash, Norfolk glazed carrots
Team
Stuart Fay and Stephen Treadwell
The Bell Inn, Horndon on the Hill, Essex
Menu
Starter: Cornish crab tortellini with red wine poached scallop, crab bisque and salmon tuile
Main: Wild rabbit saddle in herb mousse with fondant potato, rabbit leg ballottine and chestnut mushrooms
Dessert: Dark chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream and praline
Poultry
Thomas Pickering
The Three Fishes, Mitton, nr Whalley, Lancashire
Dish: Devilled breast of cornfed Goosnargh chicken, devil sauce, chunky chips, onion rings, watercress and field mushrooms
Desserts
James Angus Rogers
The Dog Inn, Grundisburgh, Woodbridge, Suffolk
Dish: Bone marrow bread and bitter pudding with quince and lemon ice cream
Meat
Justin Brown
Carnarvon Arms, Bughclere, Newbury, Berkshire
Dish: Double cooked shoulder of Highclere estate lamb, roast garlic mash, kurly kale and a rosemary sauce
