Last call for entries to Major Shepherd's Pie challenge

The competition is open to chefs across all sectors of the industry. Five finalists will be selected from paper entries and invited to prepare their recipe from scratch at Major's new Innovation Centre in Northamptonshire during September. Entries only must be emailed for the attention of Brian Eastment at info@majorint.com by 01 May including name of competitor, contact details and place of work or college. Product samples for use during the competition will be supplied free of charge. All recipes must include either Major International concentrated lamb paste stock or lamb powder. The competitors will be asked to cook six portions of their chosen dish in 60 minutes and to explain how they have used Major International concentrated lamb stock paste or lamb powder in the recipe to a team of judges from the Craft Guild of Chefs and the British Culinary Federation, headed up by Major International development chef Brian Eastment. The first prize winner will win a champagne reception, dinner and overnight accommodation at a five star London hotel and two tickets to a top London show. The second prize winner will win £200 of Continental Chef Supplies (CCS) vouchers and the third runner up will win £100 CCS vouchers. All prizes provided are courtesy of Major International. In addition, the three finalists will win a year's Craft Guild of Chefs membership and a year's membership to the British Culinary Federation. David Bryant, managing director of Major International, explained: "The Major International Great British Shepherd's Pie competition is a wonderful chance to celebrate and support the UK's most popular main course dishes. Shepherd's Pie is a national treasure and can be found on menus throughout the UK. Families enjoy it as a tasty, hearty meal, it's also a traditional pub classic and fine dining variations can be found at restaurants such as The Ivy." "We are looking for chefs to push the boundaries with the traditional staple ingredients of minced lamb, onions and potatoes and come up with new recipes giving Shepherd's Pie an innovative twist and wow factor." The winning recipes will be added to the unique Major's online Recipe Datafile and will be available to download from www.majorint.com during British Food Fortnight 19th September – 04 October.