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On Wednesday 23rd February, the Welsh International Culinary Championships organised by the Welsh Culinary Association returned to North Wales. The Championships have been running successfully for 24 years, only taking a break for the COVID pandemic.

Our South West Business Development Manager, Gary Kilminster entered and we are very proud to share his success. We caught up with him to share his experience and tell us how he got on!  

Congratulations on winning a gold medal, silver medal & Best in Class, how did you find the day?

I really enjoyed the day, I saw many old friends who were judging and it was nice to be back in whites and feel the buzz of competing again. I realised how much I missed that feeling after competing in the final of the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year competition last year and when the opportunity came up to enter, I couldn’t resist.

I was lucky that Essential Cuisine’s head office is not far from North Wales where the championships were being held so I was able to use our innovation kitchen to set up my dishes before travelling to the venue. Little things like that make a real difference to your mindset prior to competitions.

It was also a proud moment for me as well, as a former student of mine, Dan Andree-Parsons who is now Sous Chef at the Michelin Starred Beach House restaurant in Swansea was also competing and I was able to watch him win double gold.

What dishes did you cook?

My menu for the Welsh lamb class consisted of Black Pudding & Spinach stuffed Lamb Loin, Creamed Bacon Cabbage, Glazed Beetroots, Lamb Fat Potato and a Sauce Reform made using Essential Cuisine’s new Signature Veal Stock Reduction. I was very happy and delighted to win a gold with that dish

For my Spanish inspired dish which I had 15 minutes to cook and serve, I cooked Salt Baked Cod with a Chorizo, Yellow Pepper, Sherry & Baby Plum Tomato Stew.

Reflecting on the day, what did you do well and what could you have done better?

I’m my worst critic when it comes to questions like this as I always think I could have done better.

To win a gold and a silver medal plus best in class, you have to be happy with that, however some of the plating could have been a bit sharper and working in a tiny section, I could have been a bit cleaner. But overall, I was happy with both dishes and delighted to do well. It was like rolling back the years to my earlier career in competitions.

It’s brilliant that you compete in competitions just like this one, what gives you the drive?

I was first introduced to competition cookery in 1998 and have competed in over 50 competitions both in the UK and aboard since. From the very first one I’ve really enjoyed & loved the buzz of competing and pushing myself, I’ve always wanted to learn new skills and techniques. Hearing from judges on what they like, didn’t like and how I could improve a dish or certain elements has always inspired me to develop and not stand still.

Also as part of my job I get to work with chefs from all sectors across the industry by way of judging competitions, sponsoring the Combined Services Culinary Arts Team or giving advice and guidance to young chefs who compete, so by continuing competing, I’m always learning, current and relevant in what I say and do. That’s always been important to me.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to:

Craig Martin from RAK Porcelain, Samantha Rain & Tracey Hughes from Henley Bridge Ingredients, Adam Stocker & Ben Cartwright from The Westbourne Grocer, who all helped & supported and sponsored me in various ways. All my friends and colleagues from Essential Cuisine who have given me the encouragement and time to be able to do it, particularly my manager Howard Beasley and most importantly my family for putting up with me every step of the way.

Also a thank you to all the people who sent me messages of good luck. Really appreciate all them - thank you.

Follow Gary Kilminster on Instagram - @essential_gary