R. Sorbie of Abbey Health scoops Lakeland Dairies’ Reimagine Colcannon chef competition £1000 prize

Craig Smith

Craig Smith

Other 11th July 2022
Craig Smith

R. Sorbie of Abbey Health scoops Lakeland Dairies’ Reimagine Colcannon chef competition £1000 prize

R. Sorbie of Abbey Healthcare scooped the Lakeland Dairies’ Reimagine Colcannon chef competition prize of a £1000 amazon gift card by creating ‘Molly Malone’s Colcannon’. A reimagined colcannon made by gently folding potato and cabbage with salmon and Lakeland Dairies Pure Irish Butter and Millac Gold Double for a deliciously creamy finish. 


The dish is then paned with flour, egg, and Lakeland Dairies Whole Milk before being lightly coated in golden breadcrumbs and beautifully presented in the centre of the plate, surrounded by mussels, red pesto and pancetta. 

A highly commended place went to B. Gollan of Ivy House with his beautifully presented savoy cabbage wrapped colcannon that was the perfect accompaniment to his Ballotine of Pork fillet with new seasonal vegetables and a sage and Earl Grey jus. 

Further highly commended places were awarded to J. Nicolas, Waddesdon Church of England School, D. Gunn, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and S. Hawker, AbleCare Homes.

The Lakeland Dairies Colcannon Competition ran through March and April and was part of Lakeland Dairies celebration of their Irish provenance.

The competition encouraged chefs to create a modern twist on Colcannon by exploring Lakeland Dairies range of high-quality professional dairy products; Lakeland Dairies Real Dairy Whipping Creams, Pure Irish Butters, delicious Milks and Millac Gold Double

Judged by Lakeland Dairies and the Craft Guild of Chefs, the competition considered the creativity and visual appearance of the Colcannon dishes entered. 


Jean Cattanach, marketing Controller at Lakeland Dairies says: “Celebrate Green is our way of shining a spotlight on our farming excellence on the island of Ireland.

Having a modern twist to one of the most iconic Irish dishes, Colcannon is a perfect way to showcase the extraordinary taste and fantastic functional performance of Lakeland Dairies’ dairy products. We were delighted to have received so many innovative ideas based around this truly Irish traditional dish. The judges were taken with how beautifully presented Sorbie’s dish was and the imaginative way that he matched colcannon with delicious seafood. The name – Mollie Malone – was an ideal title for the dish.” 


Lead Judge, Andrew Green, CEO of the Craft Guild of Chefs said: “It was a pleasure to judge such a range of diverse dishes. Sorbie’s take on this simple and popular dish has given Colcannon the modern twist that we were hoping to achieve. I am sure that it will prove an enormous success on any menu.” 

Full list of winners
Winner: R. Sorbie, Abbey Health
Highly Commended: B. Gollan, Ivy House
Highly Commended: J. Nicolas, Waddesdon Church of England School
Highly Commended: D. Gunn, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
Highly Commended: S. Hawker, AbleCare Homes.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.