Aiming to highlight the country’s culinary talent, expertise and excellence, the Northern Ireland Chef of the Year contests will run alongside the new Northern Ireland Inter College Cook and Serve Challenge as part of Salon Culinaire Belfast.

Expecting more entries than ever before, the Salon Culinaire Belfast is designed to highlight and nurture Northern Ireland’s young chefs and will serve to provide a launchpad for a lucrative career in the hospitality and foodservice industry.

The Northern Ireland Chef of the Year competition is open to chefs working in Ireland and will require participants to devise a three-course menu, with an emphasis on local produce, alongside a plant based amuse bouche, to impress a panel of judges.

Also returning to Salon Culinaire Belfast next year is the popular edible art competitions where competitors will use their imagination and skills to create visually stunning exhibits from ingredients including chocolate, sugar paste, fondant or fruit and vegetables.

Commenting on the launch of the Salon Culinaire timetable, Sean Owens, Salon Director said: “Northern Ireland is home to some of the world’s top chefs who are helping to cement the wider hospitality and foodservice industry as a global leader. I’m really looking forward to seeing the immense amount of talent and skills that will be on offer throughout the competitions.

“The road to recovery after the impact of the pandemic has been tough for many establishments in the hospitality and foodservice industry but we’re delighted to see real signs of growth beginning to show. Celebrating the achievements of the industry, alongside the talent of our chefs will serve to encourage more and more young people to join the sector, which will help to secure its future expansion.”

Turning his attention to the upcoming competitions, Sean added: “The IFEX Salon Culinaire competitions are suitable for everyone – from students just starting out in their culinary journey to experienced chefs who are making huge waves in the industry.

“I have no doubt that we will discover a huge amount of talent at IFEX – both from established chefs and those who are yet to be uncovered. Highlighting and promoting our own, home-grown talent is what IFEX is all about.”

The Salon Culinaire competitions are now open for entry, visit: www.ifexexhibition.co.uk/salon-culinaire.

To register your attendance, visit: ifex-2024.reg.buzz and if you’re planning to exhibit, contact Lyndsey Harker by emailing: lyndsey@365-events.co.uk or call: 07946 320096.

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The Sustainable Chef Challenge run by Sharon’s employer, Sodexo, one of Ireland’s largest catering and facilities management businesses, took place in Germany on Wednesday 15th November 2023.

 The Sustainable Chef Challenge highlights Sodexo’s commitment to sustainable food and its goal to ensure that 70% of its main dishes can be labelled ‘low carbon’ by 2030. It is run in partnership with Rational AG, Eaternity and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

 Sharon faced seven other Sodexo chefs from Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, India, United Arab Emirates and the USA in a live cook-off to deliver two delicious, low-carbon, sustainable yet practical dishes that minimised food waste.

 On a stage, against the clock and under the watchful eye of a panel of experts that included the German three-Michelin star chef Thomas Bühner,  Sharon impressed the judges with a gluten free, vegan friendly  pistachio-crusted celeriac steak, followed by a vegan chocolate mousse with a honeycomb and coconut ice cream. As well as using low carbon ingredients, Sharon also ensured her dishes minimised food waste.

 Sharon was declared joint winner alongside Brazilian competitor Ricardo Machado, and they were both presented with the Culinary Experience Grand Prize.

 Commenting on her win, Sharon said: ‘I am over the moon to have won, the standard was very high, and I was a little nervous, but I’m used to preparing food under pressure and I put in a lot of practice beforehand so once the competition began, the nerves fell away. The customers I serve must respond under pressure every single day they’re at work, so I took inspiration from them when I was on that stage.

‘Even back at school I felt most at home in the kitchen, so a career in catering was always on the cards. I joined Sodexo as a food service assistant 15 years ago and worked my way up. I hate wasting anything, particularly food, so I’ve always tried to keep it down. Volunteering with FareShare, which redistributes food to communities that need it, keeps me vigilant. But then you learn about the connection between food waste and climate change, and it fires you up even more.

‘I was delighted to have had the opportunity to work with such talented people, united by a common purpose, paving the way for tasty and sustainable food.’

Julianne Forrestal, food transformation director, Sodexo added:  ‘As one of our most talented, award-winning chefs, congratulations to Sharon on her very well-deserved win.  Sustainability is a major focus of the changes sought by our clients and for Sodexo, it’s about continually pioneering to build better experiences, support our own employees and enhance our contribution to the environment. The global Sustainable Chef Challenge reflects Sodexo’s ambition to drive change towards tasty and sustainable low-carbon food and contributes directly to our own clients’ sustainability goals.’

Featured image: Chef Sharon McConnell, joint winner of the Sodexo Global Sustainable Chef Challenge. 

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Martin Carroll, who is originally from Newry, will take charge of the kitchen which produces course after course of mystery dishes which are only revealed to diners when placed in front of them.

Having learnt his trade at catering college in his hometown, Martin then gained 15 years’ experience behind the pass of luxury hotel restaurants including Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland, and Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, as well as running a fine dining restaurant in Bulgaria. 

Blank, which previously won the LCN best restaurant award and was added to the Michelin Guide earlier this year, does not have a menu, so guests arrive without knowing what dish they will be served – only that every ingredient on their plate has been sourced locally from the island of Ireland. Martin plans to enhance this experience even further.

He said: “I was instantly drawn to the Blank concept – using hyper seasonal and solely local produce is something I’m just as passionate about as they are here. I love to forage for produce myself, whether it’s mushrooms, herbs, sea vegetables, you’ll often find me around Dundrum searching for the freshest possible ingredients to add to my dishes, so that will definitely come in handy. 

“The experience people get when they dine at Blank is already top class, that is why the Michelin Guide wanted to add them, but I want to help take it to the next level. I’m working hard to ensure I put my own stamp on it, having already brought in new courses and some special added extras to ensure everyone leaves here with a smile on their face and feeling like they have just experienced something like no other. It’s a big task but one I am really excited to be a part of.”

Guests at Blank are given a number of choices when they book; three courses for early or lunctime diners, a new six course experience and the signature nine course option, which all come with extras including several amuse-bouches and freshly baked breads. 

Welcoming Martin to the team, Jonny Taylor, Owner and Chef at Blank added: “We’re delighted to have Martin join us and help continue to grow the Blank Experience. He brings a wealth of experience in fine dining, a new style of cooking and fresh energy to our team. There is no standing still at Blank, and we always want to see what new dishes we can create and flavours we can present to our customers. Martin has come in with ideas that we are delighted to embrace, and we look forward to serving these up.”

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Some of the best venues and professionals responsible for producing great food will square off at Belfast’s Crowne Plaza Hotel on June 9 for the coveted title.

Tickets for the big night are selling fast so anyone hoping to grab a spot at the biggest night in NI hospitality should get their skates on and book HERE.

The sensational shortlisted venues are:

As for the night itself, it includes a feast of top entertainment, and promises to be bigger and better than ever, with past winners licking their lips at the prospect of a return and the possibility that they could again be among the winners of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious hospitality awards.

Hosting the event will be Sarah Travers and The Blame Game’s own Tim McGarry, while entertainment will be provided by Super group Spring Break who toured recently in the United Kingdom as back up to Cher.

So join 500 of Northern Ireland’s top hoteliers, publicans, caterers, and restaurateurs at hospitality’s biggest night of the year and book your place HERE.

As for the night itself, it includes a feast of top entertainment, and promises to be bigger and better than ever, with past winners licking their lips at the prospect of a return and the possibility that they could again be among the winners of Northern Ireland’s most prestigious hospitality awards.

Hosting the event will be Sarah Travers and The Blame Game’s own Tim McGarry, while entertainment will be provided by Super group Spring Break who toured recently in the United Kingdom as back up to Cher.

So join 500 of Northern Ireland’s top hoteliers, publicans, caterers, and restaurateurs at hospitality’s biggest night of the year and book your place HERE.

The post Top chefs in sizzling form for LCN Award appeared first on Licensed & Catering News (LCN) - News Coverage from the Local Trade.