Jose Manuel De Freitas from Four Seasons Health Care’s Silver Springs Care Home in Jersey was acclaimed as the Gluten-free Chef of the Year, while Christian Dean Young who is studying at Northampton College was awarded the Up and Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year.
The competition for professional cooks and catering college students, which aims to raise awareness of coeliac disease and highlight the need for more gluten-free options on menus, required them to design a three-course, bistro-style gluten-free meal for two, which culminated in the 90-minute long cook-off for three finalists in each category.
For the third year, the competition was run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs and the Institute of Hospitality, and this year the bar was raised to give entrants a chance to really showcase their skills through including gluten-free substitutes such as bread, pasta or batter cooked from scratch in the final.
De Freitas’ winning menu consisted of a goat’s cheese soufflé with caramelised shallots, broad bean salad and balsamic dressing; pan roasted butternut squash and king prawn ravioli served with sage brown butter and rocket and parmesan salad; followed by gooey chocolate fondant with caramel sauce, vanilla cream and fresh raspberries.
His prize is a week long stage at the two Michelin starred Gleneagles working with executive chef Andrew Fairlie.
Young’s winning menu was beetroot rosti with grilled salmon and dill cream, spicy tomato tagliatelle with chicken and chorizo, followed by a mini Black Forest gateau. His prize is a week long stage at Michelin starred The Pass at South Lodge with chef Matt Gillan.
The judging panel led by Vickery consisted of David Mulcahy, Craft Guild vice president and craft and development director at Sodexo; Daniel Ayton, executive sous chef at Crowne Plaza; and Adam Gray, head chef at The Red Lion in Northampton.
Vickery congratulated all this year’s winners: “Each year the standard is raised and this year it was the best ever with some exceptional dishes being cooked including those traditionally seen as being more difficult to make such as gluten-free bread, pasta and pastry. To cook these in a live final is a real achievement.
“With a growing market to service the hundreds of thousands of people looking for gluten-free options, the demand for skilled chefs is likely to boom and this competition showcases the best of the talent out there.
“Coeliac UK has recently launched training and accreditation for caterers to learn more about gluten-free cooking and the controls needed to ensure cross contamination is eliminated and I would recommend that everyone in the catering industry embraces the gluten-free market – the demand is only going to increase as diagnosis improves.”
Additional prizes were provided by sponsors Sodexo and 3663, including gift vouchers and knives, and all the finalists will receive a year’s membership of the Craft Guild of Chefs.
The finalists
Gluten-free Chef of the Year
1st – Jose Manuel De Freitas, Silver Springs Care Home, Jersey
2nd – Tom Thexton, head chef/owner, The Wild Thexton
3rd – Viktorija Bernataviciute, sous chef, The Wig and Pen, Northampton
Up and Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year
1st – Christian Dean Young, Northampton College
2nd – James Barnard, Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education
3rd – Beathan James, Northampton College