La Paz chef Kevin Parry is a hit with Wirral Chef Shine diners

Jun 24 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Birkenhead News

THERE was something fishy about last week’s Wirral Chefs Shine evening at La Paz – but will it be enough to win the title for Kevin Parry?

In a first for the competition, the 25-year-old sous chef used seafood in both his starter and main course, a bold move which won praise from even the most sceptical of diners.

For starters, Kevin served home-cured Loch Duart salmon with horseradish and Claremont Farm beetroot remoulade and pickled cherries.

The main course included Brixham brown crab, scallop and sea bass with Dunstan broad bean puree, Claremont courgette and coral powder.

For dessert, diners enjoyed cherries in a sparkling wine jelly, a chocolate cup filled with Claremont gooseberries parfait.

There was also a chilled blend of raspberries in a base of creme fraiche, described as “between an ice cream and a cream”.

Geoffrey Knowles from Hoylake, who was dining with wife Colleen, called Kevin’s menu “absolutely first class”.

He said: “I’d have to go to a very posh London restaurant to match that.

“I think it was very courageous to have the starter and main courses as fish. It could have gone awfully wrong but it didn’t – it was tremendous.

“He got it exactly right.”

Carole Jackson, also of Hoylake, said Kevin’s menu showed real talent.

She said: “I’ve been to many Chefs Shine nights over the years and this was the best meal I’ve had.

“This restaurant has really upped its game and this menu was up there with the top chefs. This is something that the other chefs in the competition have to aspire to.”

Fittingly for a family-owned and run restaurant, the whole Parry family was on hand to help Kevin on his big night – including proud mum Juliana.

Brother and mentor Colin, who won Wirral Chefs Shine in 2007, was among the team in the kitchen.

Kevin said preparation was the key to the night running smoothly.

He said: “It’s gone perfectly. We prepared well and I think that showed. All the feedback seemed to be very good and we’ve had a lot of praise on the starter and the sea bass.

“It will be a nervous wait until we find out the winner but we believe we’ve put on a tremendous night and now we’re just looking forward to November.”

Wirral Chefs Shine 2009 is supported by Wirral Council, the Mersey Partnership, Wirral Met College and Liverpool Community College.

l FIND out who our next finalist is in next week’s News and on www.wirralnews.co.uk from Wednesday.