One Pot Cook Off to launch Chester Food & Drink festival

Entrants will be competing to win a complimentary weekend for two in the Master Suite at The Macdonald Hotel and have their dish added to the hotel's Snooty Fox Restaurant evening menu. The closing date for entrants is 5 March. Candidates who make it through to the final will have the opportunity to display their culinary skills at the event. The judging panel will include Chester Food & Drink Festival chairman Stephen Wundke and Jane Casson, of Made in Cheshire. For those cooks and chefs who want to take part in the competition can enter by contacting Paula Bullock on 01244 323 186 or by emailing sales.blossoms@macdonald.hotels.co.uk. Competitors must not work as a chef in a professional capacity and must be aged over 18 years old. Chefs will be expected to create a meal, taking no longer then 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook. Kate Halewood, general manager for The Macdonald New Blossoms Hotel, commented: "Competitors can only use one pot or pan to cook your dish, which must be influenced by traditional British ingredients. We are encouraging domestic Gods and Goddesses who must live in Cheshire, to get involved." The Chester Food and Drink Festival runs from 14-25 March 2008.