We are delighted to announce that Lexington Head Chef, Matt Jaynes and Chef de Partie, Laura Hodgskin, won gold at the annual Association of Catering Excellence ‘Ready Steady Cook’ challenge on Thursday 20th September held at Imperial College, London.
All competing teams were given a mystery bag of ingredients, 30 minutes to plan their menu and then just 30 minutes to cook two courses with just one induction hob to cook on!
Out of 16 teams, made up of the best contract catering companies, Matt and Laura blew the competition out of the water with a unanimous decision from all judges and stormed into first place with their menu of pan fried gilt head bream with crushed purple potato, watercress, spring onion and lemon buerre blanc followed by pear, blackberry and white chocolate doughnuts with vanilla anglaise.
The judges commented “It was the strongest year we have seen, the winning menu had two exceptionally strong courses presented well with exceptional detail on taste and texture.”
Matt and Laura, who work together at Lexington’s contract at Marlow International, have both won a tasting menu for two at the three Michelin starred The Fat Duck, and a tour of the kitchen by the Head Chef. This was Matt and Laura’s first entry together into the popular competition and Laura’s first ever professional competition so a great start to her future competitive career!
Last year Lexington, represented by Danny Moore and current LexChef champion Carl Williams, came an impressive third out of 16 teams so this year’s result is a fantastic achievement on last year – bring on 2013!
