BERKSHIRE PUB CHEF MEATS THE MARK !

Justin Brown has carved out another notch for his sizzling career after being hailed Meat Pub Chef of the Year at yesterday’s PubChef’s Food Excellence Awards.

The triumphant chef from the Carnarvon Arms in Bughclere, Newbury, was presented with the accolade, sponsored by Essential Cuisine, at a glittering ceremony at Plaisterers' Hall, London.

Justin beat off competition from two other great meat chefs after serving up a red hot double cooked shoulder of Highclere lamb with roast garlic mash, kurly kale and rosemary sauce at a cook-off at the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board, Milton Keynes, in January.

The panel decreed that Justin’s dish was simple, tasty, classic, and demonstrated a multitude of skills. One said: “I liked the simplicity of it – the heritage, the seasonality and the price consciousness. As for what he put in that pot to braise the lamb, it was amazing.

“Justin challenged himself technique-wise and really thought about flavour. It was a classic pub dish and I loved how it worked.”

The high profile judging panel included Alastair Sawday's Pubs & Inns Guide editor David Hancock, Which? Good Food Guide editor Elizabeth Cater, Craft Guild of Chefs chief executive Martin Bates and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge.

For the Meat category, the panel was joined by Essential Cuisine managing director Nigel Crane, former development chef at RHM and sous chef under Anton Mosimann at The Dorchester.

A total of 34 pub chefs from across the UK battled it out in a series of cook-offs in a bid to be crowned a PubChef Food Excellence Awards Pub Chef of the Year 2009.

13/03/2009|