Winner of Wirral Chefs Shine to be revealed at Wirral Tourism Awards for Excellence next week

Oct 28 2009 by Lorna Hughes, Heswall News

SIX months of fierce kitchen competition are at an end – so what happens next?

One of our finalists – Matthew Dougherty (Sheldrakes), Julian Davies (Julians), Kevin Parry (La Paz), Emma Wombwell (CowshedRestaurant at the Wheatsheaf), Adam Bowers (Portrait House) or Chris Barbakis (Paesano) – will be crowned Wirral Chef of the Year at the Wirral Tourism Awards for Excellence at Thornton Hall Hotel onWednesday, November 4.

The winner will follow in the footsteps of Emma Wombwell from the Cowshed at the Wheatsheaf Inn in Raby, who picked up the title last year and is again a finalist.

Previous winners include Colin Parry (La Paz), Shaun McGee (Zucchini) and Phil Horne (Ego).

The decision was once again all yours – votes from Wirral News readers who attended a Wirral Chefs Shine night at each shortlisted restaurant will decide the winner.

Here’s a reminder of each chef and their menu:

EMMA WOMBWELL Pan–roasted sea trout on a bed of samphire & Claremont Farm asparagus; Ness lamb cutlets with an offal faggot; three miniature British desserts with a rhubarb twist

KEVIN PARRY Loch Duart salmon with horseradish and beetroot remoulade and pickled cherries; Brixham brown crab, scallop and sea bass with broad bean puree, Claremont courgette and coral powder; cherries in a sparkling wine jelly and a chocolate cup filled with Claremont gooseberries parfait

ADAM BOWERS Salad of goat’s cheese with roasted baby beetroot, fine beans and toasted walnut oil; sea bass fillet with a braised fennel bulb, broad beans and sauce vierge; strawberry and champagne parfait with a tuille biscuit and rose jelly.

CHRIS BARBAKIS New season potatoes, sweetcorn espuma and basil and pea shoots; supreme of chicken, mint and yoghurt and corn couscous; stone fruits, green gage, arquete and damson

JULIAN DAVIES Carpaccio of salmon with pickled red onion salad, wasabi and melba toast; Stuffed belly pork , served with ratatouille, creamed potatoes and honeycomb crackling; Granny Smith bavarois with plum parfait and toffee apple slices

MATTHEW DOUGHERTY Breast of wood pigeon; curried monkfish fillet on a bed of butternut squash and pumpkin risotto; layered blackberry, apple and pear parfait with a crumble base.

Find out who the winner is on our website, www.wirralnews.co.uk after next week’s ceremony.