Tilda Chef of the Year 2012 crowned

The event was staged in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs as part of Salon Culinaire at the recent Hotelympia event. Chefs had one hour to prepare, cook and present three portions of a main course dish and dessert using various rice types from Tilda's comprehensive range. Leung, the caterer's head chef at its Standard Bank contract in City of London, cooked up Persian jewelled rice with Moroccan spiced poussin, featuring Tilda Basmati rice, followed by coconut and cardamom rice pudding with coconut ice-cream using Tilda Arborio Risotto Rice. Leung commented: "It still feels unreal to win this competition. Rice has always been part of me since childhood from my ethnic background. I grew up from a very young age with my parents using Tilda because of its versatility and undisputed quality. "Winning the competition it has made me aware of how many ethnic backgrounds use rice as an integral part of their diet and the different ways it can be prepared. As a caterer, there is only one word for rice in my kitchen and that is Tilda." Mark Lyddy, head of foodservice at Tilda, added: "I would like to congratulate Danny on the excellence of his dishes which proved just how versatile rice can be and its ease-of-use as an ingredient. "The Tilda Chef of the Year competition is designed to encourage chefs to be more adventurous in terms of the way they use rice and once again it has been great to see so many people really taking that message on board with a host of innovative dishes." Steve Munkley, vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs and head judge at the event, said: "Danny's dish won due to his creative use of the rice and understanding on how to cook the rice perfectly. The balance of rice and ingredients were just right and the presentation enhanced the dish immensely."