Move over Greg Wallace, take a hike Simon Cowell. Nick Harman tries his hand at delivering judgement on hopeful cooking wannabes.
However the call has not yet come. Working on the basis that one has to start somewhere though, I accepted the request to judge for Accor as they decided a’signature’ dish for their Ibis hotels.
As a morale builder and bit of fun, Ibis had run a competition to all their outlets to find a dish they could put on the menu of just about every hotel. The competitors are not super chefs, it’s part of their job but not all of it. The dish had to be simple enough for everyone to make in scantily equipped kitchens, cost effective and one that customers would go for.
So after a brief handshake with fellow judges, it was on to the raised platform of my dreams. Would I be Mr Nasty? Would I be soft and cuddly? Would I be feeling sick by the end of the evening? Dishes were to be judged on the story behind them, presentation, ease of repeatability, cost etc
It’s up to you New York
Not so hot peppers
Even less of a brainer was the next dish, sweet peppers filled with chili and microwaved. Even the chili was, as the breakdown showed, bought in. Chef’s contribution was to press the’on’ button. It was as uninspiring to eat as you might imagine.
It looked pretty good; the dressing was sharp and sticky, the bacon a bit underdone. The poached egg was a readymade, microwaved and apart from its peculiar square shape, not bad at all. Well done Darren.
Fish out of water
Yhe next dish,Fogg’s Jamaican Experience, a dish of jerk chicken, lime and coriander yoghurt, bell peppers and flatbread was not bad at all but was simply too complicated to ever work on the menu. Too much marinating, too many ingredients.
Burger me
So we retired to come to a verdict. The salmon won easily and despite my reservations, the experts picked the New York Deli Sandwich as runner up. The winners get a training programme with the head chef of the Sofitel St. James Hotel and some glory. They deserved it.
The New York Deli Sandwich will be on all Ibis menus by mid October
The Cajun Salmon will also be on menus from mid October