Lewis' thoughts behind his ingredient choices:
Making puff pastry is a long process and I would be unable to produce it in the allocated time on the day, so for the competition I will be using a quality ready-made puff pastry product. Primarily the textures of the dish are soft, therefore the caramelised pastry disc will add a delicate crisp element.
With more fruits available to me at this time of year in comparison with the first heat of the competition, strawberries became my immediate choice. Coming into season at the beginning of June means the first few crops of strawberries are going to be rich and flavoursome. Willington fruit farm growers based in Cheshire produce some of Britain’s finest strawberries.
Forshaw’s dairy is well established in Longridge and has been supplying dairy to the catering trade for many years. Actually using it at work, you can see the consistency and quality of the product day in day out, which was one of the determining factors behind my choice to use their yoghurt. The creaminess of the yoghurt helps contrast the sharpness of the strawberries and heighten their flavour, but it also works in bringing out the natural flavour of the yoghurt.
The executive chef at Stanley House is a keen walker and takes many routes from within the North West. On one of his walks, which is now an abandoned railway line in Lancaster that has been converted for walkers, a variety of wild berries grow on bushes in abundance, so I have decided to use wild strawberries as well as farmed.