College lands first ‘plaice’
Sunderland College students reeled in competition judges to win Best Mains in the regional heats of the The UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition.
The college’s new City Campus proved the “plaice” to be when it hosted the heat, which saw students from across the country tasked with creating a three-course menu for judges using a specific type of fish.
Founded in 1996 by Grimsby Institute, the contest has been supported by some of the best chefs in the UK, and provides young chefs with a platform to demonstrate their flair, understanding, skill and ability using seafood from sustainable sources.
The competing chefs were able to take advantage of the new state-of-theart kitchen at the campus, which also runs as commercial restaurant City Bistro, headed up by North East chef Kelvin Linstead.
The students presented their meals to an expert panel, comprised of celebrity barbecue chef Ben Bartlett, private chef and food consultant Franck Pontais, and George McIvor, from Master Chefs of Great Britain, who scored each dish while invited guests sampled the competitors’ seafood fare in the new restaurant.
The Sunderland College students were awarded the Best Mains awards for their dish of hake, purple broccoli, peas, pea puree and purple potatoes with hot tartare sauce.
Ellen Thinnesen, Sunderland College principal, said:“Wewereoverwhelmed by the quality of the dishes prepared by the young competitors, and all of the diners were very impressed with their meals and the professionalism of the students.”
Paul Robinson, competition co-ordinator for Grimsby Institute, said: “The day was carried out with the utmost professionalism and the learners in the catering department are a credit to the college.
“All the teams that visited were so impressed with the facilities – we will be returning again next year as it was such a great success.”