Contract caterer Elior triumphs at ACE’s Ready Steady Cook Challenge

The event was held at Imperial College, London on 22nd September 2011. Teams of two had 30 minutes to plan their menus from the moment the ingredients were revealed. They could choose from plaice, partridge, chicken livers, clams, organic shell eggs, a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables and a range of store cupboard ingredients. They then had 30 minutes 'on stage' to prepare and cook their planned menu. Teams were divided into two heats, with eight stations in each. With a limited working space, an induction hob and a set selection of ingredients to choose from, the pressure was on. Chefs had to create two portions of a main course and two portions of a dessert. The judges were Martin Bates, chief executive Craft Guild of Chefs, Geoff Booth, head of catering at Westminster Kingsway College and Steve Munkley, executive chef at The Royal Garden and vice president of The Craft Guild of Chefs. Geoff Booth commented: "The innovation is fantastic. To work with just one induction hob, this level of creativity is brilliant. It's remarkable what they can produce with such limited equipment." The first team to present their dishes in heat one were Vacherin with five minutes before the deadline. In the second heat, the winning pair, Raj Sharma and Jo Baptiste from Elior were the first to bring out their main course five minutes ahead of the deadline. They produced fillet of plaice, fondant potatoes, butternut squash puree and clam sauce. Dessert was Scottish pancakes with lemon curd and a damson compote. Prizes were awarded by Steve Munkley together with sponsors Chris Craggs from McFarlane Telfer and James Roberts from Peros. Munkley said: "It's really interesting to see how many different dishes can be made from the same bunch of ingredients. I saw some great skills at filleting fish this evening, skills that are sorely missing in our industry." Third place went to Carl Williams and Daniel Moore from Lexington Catering, runners up were Mike Hilling and Jason Taylor-Bowers from Brookwood Partnership with Raj Sharma and Jo Baptiste from Elior winning the coveted first prize of lunch at the Fat Duck. As well as their trophies, certificates and champagne, each winning chef along with their guest will partake in a special lunch at the restaurant in Bray. The prize, sponsored by McFarlane Telfer, will include a guided tour around the kitchens – a real treat for the winning team.