Deadline approaches for Coeliac UK’s Gluten-Free Chef of the Year Competition 2011

Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with coeliac disease, is urging cooks throughout the UK to design a three course gluten-free meal to be judged by celebrity chef Phil Vickery. For the second year, the competition is being run in association with the Institute of Hospitality and the Craft Guild of Chefs. The competition is for professional cooks and catering college students to design a three course gluten-free meal for two people, with a live cook off for three finalists in each group, taking place at the Unilever Food Solutions Culinary Business Development Centre in Leatherhead on 8 November 2011. The recipe competition comprises two categories; 'Gluten-free Chef of the Year' for those who cook for a living and the 'Up and Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year' for those who are training. Written submissions must: • be suitable for casual dining/bistro/brasserie style service • be innovative but simple and practical to serve • consider profitability of the dishes • consider taste and texture – for example, can you tell it is gluten-free? • balance of flavours across the three course meal • be seasonal – is the entry a spring/summer/autumn/winter menu. For help with developing gluten-free recipes, Coeliac UK has an online catering training module see link here: www.coeliacUK-cateringtraining.org.uk. Three entrants will be shortlisted for each category, and will be notified by 21 October for attendance of the live cook off at 9am on 8 November. Phil Vickery will be joined by other catering industry experts to judge the competition including Adam Gray who, until recently, was the Executive Chef at Rhodes Twenty Four in London and has held a Michelin star since 2001. He is also the joint owner of The Red Lion and Shires Cookery School in East Haddon, Northamptonshire. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten. Damage to the gut lining occurs when gluten is eaten; there is no cure or medication for the condition and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. Without a gluten-free diet, the disease can lead to other conditions, such as malnutrition, osteoporosis, bowel cancer and also can cause infertility problems.