Buffalo steak was the star ingredient which clinched the Cottage Pie Challenge prize for Hoylake restaurant The Portrait House. A modern twist on the traditional recipe thrilled judges in a competition run in aid of Hoylake Cottage in around 20 pubs and restaurants in Wirral. The Challenge ended with a cook-off at the Port Sunlight Christmas Food Fayre, at which head chef Dave Williams was presented with the top prize. Also in the cook-off were Kuki's; Gem Restaurant and The Anchor Inn. One of the judges, Paul Askew of the London Carriage Works said: “All four shortlisted were winners in their own right; they were all excellent and had obviously put in a lot of research to their recipes which were very innovative. But the winner stood out in the end because of the unusual combination of ingredients including buffalo meat and because he had closely followed the criteria to source food locally. Also it was served in a gravy boat which was quite different.”
The buffalo meat for the winning pie was sourced in North Wales; the red wine was from Anglesey; cheese from Snowdonia; beer from Birkenhead and root vegetables from local farms. Winning chef Dave Williams said: “We enjoy sourcing local ingredients and bringing new dishes onto the menu, so this was the perfect challenge for us. We don’t usually make pies as our dishes are modern European; but this has been very popular with our diners and after Christmas we will put it back on the menu as a winter special. I was very surprised and absolutely delighted to win the competition and I am really looking forward to using the prizes.” The judges were Paul Askew; Wirral farmer Lorna Tyson MBE; Nigel Crane, managing director of sponsor Essential Cuisine; and Maggie Sparks, chair of Port Sunlight Museum and Garden Village. The prize was dinner, bed and breakfast for two at Nigel Howarth’s Northcote Manor, through the Academy of Culinary Arts; and £100 worth of products from Essential Cuisine. Buffalo steak was the star ingredient which clinched the Cottage Pie Challenge prize for Hoylake restaurant The Portrait House. A modern twist on the traditional recipe thrilled judges in a competition run in aid of Hoylake Cottage in around 20 pubs and restaurants in Wirral.
