One Pot Cook Off Champion for 2009 Food & Drink Festival

A domestic master chef delivered a sensational stew to carry off the pot and the title after a sizzling competition. The second annual One Pot Cook Off Champion is Dave Purcell, following a cook off held at the Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel Golf & Spa. The annual event highlights the passion Macdonald Hotels has in sourcing the best seasonal and local food available for its customers, with the event kick-starting the eighth annual Chester Food and Drink Festival.

More than 50 entrants were short-listed to three Finalists who were judged by last year’s winner, Bhupinder Virdee-Lace, Jane Casson of Made in Cheshire & Reaseheath College, and Mark Astbury Head-Chef at the Whitchurch based hotel.

Dave, an educational welfare officer for Halton Borough Council, cooked his lamb casserole, winning a professional cookery pot and a complimentary weekend for two at the Hill Valley Hotel. Dave, 52, will also have his dish showcased at the Chester Food and Drink Festival at Chester Racecourse on Monday April 13, from 11am to noon. Runners-up were gardener Steve Beech, 48, of No Man’s Heath, Malpas, with his hash lemon gherkin dish, which included local lamb, vegetables and red wine and Darren Chard, 29, a soldier at Chester’s Dale Barracks, who cooked chicken supreme. Steve Beech’s son, Daniel, won the under-16 Junior Chef competition at last year’s Chester Food and Drink Festival.

Kate Halewood, General Manager for The Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, Golf & Spa, said:

“These are three talented chefs, but Dave’s dish stood out. This competition highlights the passion Macdonald Hotels puts into their cuisine. Macdonald Hotels believes in sourcing the best produce available, including outdoor reared animals, such as corn fed chickens and organic food and vegetables. Coffee used is Fair Trade and milk is organic. We are delighted to be taking part in the Chester Food and Drink Festival for the second time and pleased that this has become such a successful event.”

The dishes could not take any longer than 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook, using just one pot and competitors could not work as a chef in a professional capacity.

The Chester Food and Drink Festival 2009 runs from April 4 to 18, with the Taste Festival at Chester Racecourse from April 11 to April 13 and fringe events happening around the city.

 

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(Picture left to right) Jane Casson of Made in Cheshire, Dave Purcell, Winner of the One Pot Cook Off 2009, Mark Astbury Head chef at the Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel Golf and Spa, and Bhupinder Virdee-Lace  2008 One Pot Cook Off winner.