March 2009 Archives

A St Helens home chef won the One Pot Cook Off championship as part of the Chester Food and Drink Festival.

Dave Purcell, won the cook off held at the Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel Golf & Spa.

More than 50 entrants were short-listed to three Finalists who were judged by last year's winner, Bhupinder Virdee-Lace, Jane Casson of Made in Cheshire and Reaseheath College and Mark Astbury, Head-Chef at the Whitchurch based hotel.

Dave, an educational welfare officer for Halton Borough Council, cooked his lamb casserole, winning a professional cookery pot and a complimentary weekend for two at the Hill Valley Hotel. Dave, 52, will also have his dish showcased at the Chester Food and Drink Festival at Chester Racecourse on Monday April 13, from 11am to noon.

Runners-up were gardener Steve Beech, 48, of No Man's Heath, Malpas, with his hash lemon gherkin dish, which included local lamb, vegetables and red wine and Darren Chard, 29, a soldier at Chester's Dale Barracks, who cooked chicken supreme.

The dishes could not take any longer than 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook, using just one pot and competitors could not work as a chef in a professional capacity.

The Chester Food and Drink Festival 2009 runs from April 4 to 18, with the Taste Festival at Chester Racecourse from April 11 to April 13 and fringe events happening around the city.

We were at The Yellow Room at Hillbark to experience their new Spring tasting menu and it was a great evening.

The first dish was tuna, delicately done and a pleasure to eat. But the chicken soup was exciting with a jelly and touches of tarragon. It was nothing like a soup you would expect, its flavours really burst in your mouth.

I followed with the scallops, haggis, neeps and tatties. The scallop was beautifully cooked but I could almost have been happy with just the haggis, neeps and tatties as again, they were delicately done and with a good haggis.
The seabass with lemon was exquisite. The lamb cooked really well, but the only thing which didn't work for everyone I spoke to was the stilton beignet somehow that just missed the mark.

The mango and passion fruit rocked it and then we were on to a pannacotta which was creamy and delicious.

Coffee and petit fours again made on the premises.

Hillbark is known for its venue for weddings but it is also a great place for a special evening out, set in stunning surroundings.

Outside stalls return to Wirral Farmers' Market this month and with them comes two new producers.

Katie's Proper Pate and Patchwork Pate will both be joining the team while the market has outside stalls from March to October.

Also attending for the first time will be Natty's spreadable Welsh rarebit and soups.

Katie produces a handmade free range chicken liver pate, made by herself and her mother. It is gluten free with no added fats or preservatives.

Patchwork Pate was set up by Margaret Carter in the kitchen of her house in Ruthin and has continued to make innovative pates, such as Stilton and Guinness, in the area ever since.

Also returning outside will be the Pudding Compartment. Manna Hog Roast will also be offering their Gloucester Old Spot pork baps and crackling.

The next market is at the Village Hall in New Ferry on Saturday, March 14, from 9am to 1pm.

There is a large variety of food on offer at the market including award-winning cheeses, sausages, Welsh Black Beef, lamb, free range chickens, smoked food, fresh fish, free range eggs, local honey, pies, plants, cakes and soups along with plenty of seasonal vegetables.

The national award-winning Wirral Farmers' Market is run by a group of volunteers, who live and work in the area and organise the market in their spare time.

Visit www.wirralfarmersmarket.co.uk