Charlton House are ACE champions

The 8th annual Ready, Steady, Cook competition organised by the Association of Catering Excellence was last night won by Charlton House, in a tightly contested cook-off.

Given a mystery basket of ingredients, the 15 teams of chefs from contract caterers had just 30 minutes to create a main dish and a dessert with just an induction hob.

Second place was given to defending champions Vacherin and third place was awarded to the boys from ISS Eaton.

Winning team Michael Paul and Clair Streeter from the Six Clerks restaurant at the Law Society said that team work was the key to their success: "It was our first time doing it and it was a challenge using just the one stove. It was nice to have the support of people like David Cavalier. Having the hour before to set up and prepare was a good idea and helped us."

Michael and Clair cooked seared Albacore tuna with basil & tomato crushed potatoes, marinated golden beetroot and a fennel & chilli salad for their main course and an assiette of fruit: pineapple carpaccio, blackberries in red wine with vanilla custard and a chocolate & orange mousse as a dessert.

Speaking about their final dishes and of course their win, the Charlton House team said: "I think we could've put less on our plates but we're happy with the final outcome. After Vacherin came second I think we stood a good chance to win. It feels amazing to have won."

Judging the contract catering teams were Michelin-starred chef Steven Saunders who took part in the original Ready, Steady, Cook series, chief executive of the Craft Guild of Chefs Martin Bates and Dewberry Redpoint chairman Alan Dewberry.

Last night Steven explained why it's so important for him to get involved in competitions like this: "For me events like this are all about taste. When you taste something and go back for more that's a winning dish. The standard tonight is so high. They have 30 minutes on an induction hob and we shouldn't forget they have no oven."

Alan Dewberry and Martin Bates agreed with Steven's sentiments describing the efforts of the chefs in challenging circumstances as 'incredible' and 'unbelievable'.

The evening also saw the first ever all-girl team from the House of Commons who were very excited to be taking on the boys: "It's our first time here and we cooked a chicken burger with aubergine bun and French fries and a trio of pineapple", said Emma Koura and Sarah Cross. They joked that the key to everything going to plan was trying not to let the cameras distract them adding that it felt fantastic to be representing female chefs.

Mark Hill from the House of Commons was there to offer his team support and highlighted how vital competitions are for the industry: "I think this is fantastic because what it is, is fun. It's not Hotelympia or the Culinary Olympics. Everyone's on a plateau and to come here with no preparation and cook from a mystery basket is fantastic and is great for the overall cause of catering."

Items in the mystery basket included:

Corn fed chicken supreme
Albacore tuna
Vine tomatoes
Bok Choi
Aubergine
Carrots
Rocket
Large jacket potatoes
Apples
Oranges
Blackberries
Selection of herbs and seasonings

The teams were:

BaxterStorey
OCS
Lexington Catering
Restaurant Associates
In House Catering
Holroyd Howe Independent
Elior Uk
Vacherin
Autograph
Charlton House
Catermasters
ISS Eaton
House of Commons
Bartlett Mitchell
Artizian

Words: Clare Riley

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