St Ives chef cooks up a storm in national competition

Home news

Oct 16, 2017

Field Lodge is celebrating after it was announced that a team member has reached the final round of a Chef of the Year competition. 

Craig McCarthy, second chef at Field Lodge, competed against the culinary talents of chefs from around the country to be in with a chance of winning the coveted title in Care UK’s national competition.

To secure his place as a finalist, Craig was challenged to prepare a two-course lunch in 90 minutes, ensuring that the menu would appeal to residents and stayed within the budget set by the judges.

For the first course, Craig cooked up beef ragu with handmade tagiatelle served with a seasonal salad. For dessert, Craig served a traditional summer pudding with Chantilly cream and a passion fruit coulis. The meal was then presented to a panel of four judges, which included two residents, who scored each dish based on the presentation, nutrition, use of products, taste and texture.

After being named one of four finalists, Craig said: “I’m thrilled to have made it to the final round of this national competition. The level of skill and creativity from the other chefs was really high, but I was confident that my cooking would be received well by the judges, as they are dishes that the residents at Field Lodge always look forward to.”

“I love to play around with flavours from around the globe and try out combinations that many of the residents enjoy sampling. The final round will present a great opportunity to try out some new recipes, some of which we’ll hopefully add to the menu at Field Lodge.”

Katie Wilkinson, home manager at Field Lodge, added: “The Chef of the Year competition is a brilliant opportunity for the chefs at Care UK to showcase their skills and expertise. Everyone here at the home is thrilled that Craig’s talent for creating meals that both look and taste delicious has been recognised, and we all have our fingers crossed that he will be just as successful in the final heat.”

The finals, which will take place later this month, will see the four finalists compete to be crowned Care UK’s Chef of the Year.