The way to El Bulli

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20
Jan
2010

Jose Souto is a premier game chef in the UK. Having cooked at the House of Commons, Intercontinental Park Lane Hotel, Mosimann’s, The Ritz and the Savoy Grill, Jose now lectures at Westminster Kingsway College. Jose’s mission is to encourage people to prepare and enjoy game. In his blog he shares his students' progress with us, the game fairs that he demonstrates at and some of his delicious recipes for you to try at home.

“On Saturday 16 January, I was in college for the final of the Foods From Spain ‘Young Spanish Chef of the Year’ competition. I have helped develop this competition over the last two years and last year it was won by one of our now ex-students at the college, David Powell.

The competition was conceived to give young chefs an insight into the world of Spanish ingredients by not only formulating a menu from a set selection of ingredients but by also inviting them learn about the story, background and providence of Spanish food. The competition is made up of two heats; the first being a paper entry where the director of Foods from Spain (a Spanish government body set up to promote Spanish food in the UK) Maria Jose Sevilla and myself ploughed through the multitude of entries to select eight finalist that would go through to a cook-off final. At the final, each competitor would undergo a five minute interview with the panel of judges. Maria Jose Seville and myself were joined this time by Peter Gordon, a celebrity chef and owner of The Providores restaurant.

These interviews tested the knowledge the competitors had gained about Spanish food and the providence of the ingredients they had chosen to use in their dishes. The standard this year was impressive with finalists coming from all over the country. On the day, skill, knowledge, taste and presentation were all high on the agenda for each of the judges. The first prize was seven days including hotel and car hire in Spain and a three day stay at the famous El Bulli, considered the world’s best restaurant. Last year’s winner, Westminster Kingsway student David Powell, was on hand to tell of this fantastic place and what the 2010 winner could expect.

In fact, David ended up being at El Bulli for 10 days - an experience that I am sure he will never forget and that will stand him in good stead on his CV for the rest of his working life. The hard work put in by each finalist must be commended as the dishes were outstanding and so was their knowledge. Selin Kiazim was the overall winner, with Juan Camilo Sanchez Chavez coming second and Ben Murphy a close third. They all received a trophy and one of Peter Gordon's new signed Fusion books which has just been released in the UK. Competitions like this allow young chefs to develop and learn about ingredients and foods they may not normally use and I am very proud to be part of it.”