Eight student chefs competed in the final, which took place at the Hotel Restaurant and Catering Show on 3 March 2020. The finalists had to prepare, cook and serve two ‘globally inspired free-from dishes’ within an hour.
Celebrity chef and judge Cyrus Todiwala, said: “The level of student entries has been fantastic, particularly given the challenging and on trend ‘Free-From World Food’ Brief!
“It’s superb to see these students cooking so professionally, particularly given that they were faced with the daunting task of cooking on a big-stage in front of a knowledgeable audience.
“Dominykas truly deserves all the credit! He had brilliant technique and wasn’t afraid to take on challenging dishes – he was very gutsy!”
Salvaitis was awarded the prize for ‘Best Free-from, World Food Menu’ and also ‘Best Dessert’. He served two Indian inspired vegetarian/gluten-free dishes - dholka & lentil Stew’ for main course and for dessert he produced a ‘steamed szechuan patoli’.
The dishes were created with Uncle Ben’s Professional basmati rice and szechuan, tikka masala, arrabiata and black bean ready-to-use sauces.
Salvaitis commented: “To win the Dolmio Professional & Uncle Ben’s Professional Foodservice Student Catering Challenge feels amazing, particularly having seen the amazing standard of dishes that all of the other finalists served up!”
Anirudh Gosain from the University College Birmingham won the ‘Best Main Course’.
He added: “The 2020 Dolmio Professional & Uncle Ben’s Professional Foodservice Student Catering Challenge was actually the first competition I’ve ever been involved in, so I’m really delighted to have won ‘Best Main Course’ and to see my hard work pay off.”
Gosain received £200 of Amazon vouchers while Salvaitis won an additional £400 of Amazon vouchers as well as an experience at a ‘top UK restaurant’.
All eight finalists received a personalised chef jacket and certificate at the awards presentation.