Chef of the Year’s recipe for success

A NORTHSIDE chef stirred up great excitement at an awards ceremony when he was rewarded for his culinary skills in a major competition.  

David Fountain, from Beaumont, was voted Chef of the Year for 2015 at the Sodexo Salon Culinaire. 

Services company Sodexo Ireland runs the competition annually for its 2,000 staff working in 200 site locations throughout Ireland.  

The competition is open to chef and non-chef employees all vying to win a gold, silver or bronze medal in culinary excellence in over 18 classes. 

Celebrated TV chef Derry Clarke, one of the judges, has been a catering consultant to the company for the past number of years.

For the competition, David and the other contestants had to prepare, cook and present a three-course meal against the clock.

David’s dishes were a pan-seared hake with pea, picked girolles, seafood foam and langoustines, followed by an assiette of guinea fowl, hay smoked breast, ballotine and lollipop leg with heritage vegetables, apple puree and jus, and a dessert of flourless chocolate tart with a lime ice-cream, banana and chilli syrup, banana and walnut praline.

He will now represent Ireland in the Grand Final at Hotelympia in March 2016, the UK’s biggest hospitality and foodservice event, where he will face the winning Sodexo chefs from England, Scotland and Wales. 

David said his first part-time job as a kitchen porter at the age of 14 introduced him to a professional kitchen.

“From then on, my curiosity and love of food gave me the push to pursue the career that I have and love today,” he said.  

“I’ve competed for the past two years and I was so delighted and proud to win this year. 

“I can’t wait for the Grand Final as it’s going to be an amazing experience to compete with chefs of such a high calibre and on a world class stage as Hotelympia.”

The judges were enormously impressed by David’s innovative use of ingredients and lightness of touch. 

They said: “The flavours married well together and the complexity of cooking took a high level of skill to execute. 

“The use of earthy beets and smoked guinea fowl was offset with the sweetness of the jus and was the highlight of his menu.”

Margot Slattery, country president, Sodexo Ireland, also took part and won a bronze medal in the Cake Baking category. 

Ms Slattery congratulated David on his well-deserved win. 

“As a former professional chef, I know the level of commitment, skill, practice and nerve necessary to perform well at these competitions,” she said. 

“To use a rugby analogy, the Grand final next March will be our equivalent of the Six Nations Championship and so we wish David the best of luck!”

Other Northside winners on the night were Quang Pham from Baldoyle, who won a gold medal in the Advanced Barista Class and Steven Tomiwa Hope from Dublin 1 who won a silver medal in the Novice Barista Challenge.