The chefs competing to win the title of British BBQ Battle champion 2014 are:
• Dave Alebon of the Brasshouse, Birmingham (Stonegate Pubs)
• Carol Haime of Shepherd Neame
• Micky Daly/Stewart Jackson of Richins Park Golf Club
• Terry Wiggins of House of Commons (Facilities)
• Matthew Carter of Emmanuel College
• Graham Crump of University of Warwick
• Simon Crannage of Swinton Park Hotel
• James Jefferies of Tern Hill Hall
The finalists, who are representing four different hospitality sectors: pub and bar; hotels; golf club & outdoor/event catering; and universities, have had to submit a description of a three-course meal that can all be prepared on a BBQ and that they can cook within the specified one hour time frame at the final event.
Head judge, Ben Bartlett, who is president of the British BBQ Association and Britain’s Best BBQ’er at the World BBQ Championships, said: “The standard of entries for this year’s British BBQ Battle surpassed all expectations. Each of the finalists’ dishes show great creativity and I can’t wait to see how they perform and how these final dishes are presented on the day.”
The chefs will be cooking their dishes on Crown Verity BBQ’s supplied by UK exclusive distributor for the brand, RH Hall and powered by Calor LPGenius gas. All dishes cooked will include at least one Lion sauce from the choice of BBQ, hot sauces, salsas and chutneys, mustards, mayonnaise and dressings.
On the day, Ben Bartlett and his co-judges will be scoring the chefs not only on the taste and appearance of their final dishes, but for BBQ cooking techniques too. So the heat will be on!
All eight finalists will be rewarded with a Sharp LED TV, a Simply Stainless Professional Chef’s table and exclusive British BBQ Battle chef’s whites. The winner will also walk away with a top of the range Crown Verity BBQ and accessories pack. All prizes, worth an estimated £11,000 are kindly provided by leading foodservice equipment supplier RH Hall, the exclusive distributor in the UK for Crown Verity, Sharp and Simply Stainless. They will also receive a full set of Lion Sauces.