Winner of the Alaska Seafood Recipe Challenge Announced
M&J Seafood, a leading supplier to the foodservice sector hosted the final of the Alaska Seafood recipe challenge at their development Kitchen in London's Covent Garden on the 15th February, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to M&J Seafood.
The competition was organised in association with The Craft Guild of Chefs, and it invited professional chefs to devise new and innovative recipes for sustainable and wild Alaska Seafood. Three chosen finalists cooked their recipes in front of the judges, Martin Bates, Craft Guild of Chefs; Steve Munkley, Executive Chef at the Royal Garden Hotel and Christopher Basten, Executive Chef at London's Marriott County Hall Hotel. The judges assessed the competitors technique, presentation and taste of the completed dish.
The winner of the competition was Mr Sudha Shankar Saha, Group Executive Chef at Saffron Group Restaurants in Birmingham with his dish, ‘pan fried spice scented Alaska Salmon, Kasoori Methi flavoured baby spinach & assorted mushroom Bhaji, tomato Achar, Moilee sauce'. Mr Sudha Shankar Saha is passionate about his food; "My style of cooking uses a more modern approach to traditional Indian cooking. I try to break conventional boundaries and open peoples eyes to multicultural cuisine. I prefer to use local and seasonal produce, flavoured with authentic spices and give a western presentation," he explained after being presented his prize.
In second place was Mr Neil Snowball, Jnr, Sous Chef of six months for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges with ‘braised Alaska Pollock, with warm fennel salad, crispy chicken skin, purple broccoli, truffle infused egg yolk and chicken veloute'. Neil explained that he recognises the importance of classic dishes and always looks to inject exciting twists to traditional flavours.
In third place was Mr Robert Stordy, Chef Lecturer in Culinary Arts at the University of Derby with ‘roast Alaska Salmon Supreme, squid ink linguine, mussels, coconut & lemongrass'. Robert believes a strong research base behind classic dishes and ingredients is necessary in order to design the perfect dish.
Julie Linforth, M&J Seafood marketing director comments, "We would like to congratulate Mr Sudha Shankar Saha on winning the competition with his stunning dishes and commend all of the chefs for their excellent menus which demonstrated creativity and culinary skill. All of the recipes enhanced the natural flavours of the delicious sustainable wild Alaska seafood."
The winner of the challenge received the Alaska Seafood Challenge trophy, a voucher for a set of professional knives and a day's work experience in a top restaurant kitchen. The two runners up were awarded M&J Seafood vouchers. The winner has also been invited to cook and present his winning dish at the Craft Guild of Chefs Skillery, stand 75, Hotelympia on 1st March at 4pm.
Alaska seafood is wild, natural and sustainable. Since 1959, Alaska's constitution has ruled that its seafood should be maintained sustainably to preserve stocks for future generations. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), co-ordinates promotional activity all over the world to improve awareness of sustainable fisheries management.