On 10th May, the 2017 North West Young Chef Competition Finalists attended an inspiring masterclass delivered by Adam Reid at The French in The Midland Hotel, Manchester.
Organised by sponsors Essential Cuisine and CHR, the masterclass gave the final six the opportunity to learn from a chef at the top of his game.
Adam won BBC’s prestigious Great British Menu competition in 2016 with his signature dish, Golden Empire. The Manchester-born chef joined The French with Simon Rogan in 2013, and took over as Chef-Patron in 2016.
As the finalists took their place at the chefs table, Adam began to talk about sourcing and preparing ingredients, as he prepared two fresh scallop dishes at the chef’s table.
The first dish was Ceviche scallop with wild garlic and rapeseed oil, followed by a seared scallop dish with hand prepared asparagus. The hand dived king scallops they use are delivered fresh each morning to The Midland, with Adam stressing the importance of using quality ingredients. “If you use good products it will be more expensive but the quality is totally worth it” said Adam.
“We grow our own herbs and cress from seed here on site. We much prefer to use products from our own environment rather than import from elsewhere. We want to use fresh seasonal ingredients and take time to prepare them.”
“Never underestimate the importance of tasting as you go,” advised Adam. “Keep things simple, don’t over complicate the dish. It’s about what it tastes like; let the ingredients speak for themselves.”
The finalists were selected following two tense semi-finals from across the North West, with the final line up being incredibly strong; Cyril Gabriel (22, Carden Park, Chester,) Daniela Tucci (20, The Art School, Liverpool,) Ryan Lee (21, Rothay Manor, Ambleside,) Thomas Reeves (22, L’Enclume, Cartmel,) Kieran Gill (22, The Art School, Liverpool) and Mai Trising (21, The Black Swan, Kirkby Stephen.)
As the master class came to an end, the finalists and their guests enjoyed a glass of champagne and a four-course dinner cooked by Adam and his brigade.
The bespoke menu consisted of Sprouting Broccoli fried in nut oil with cheese and truffle, Cornish cod with brown shrimp butter sauce and asparagus, Salt aged duck with beetroot, kale and pickled bilberry juice, and Sugar fruit with kalamansi and white chocolate.
The six finalists will now go on to compete in the final on Thursday 25th May at Manchester College, before the winner takes their place in the semi-final of the Young National Chef of the Year Competition. – Ahead of the final, sponsors Essential Cuisine and CHR we would like to wish all finalists the best of luck!
