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Second place for Finchley chef
A chef from Finchley has been named as runner-up in the Coeliac UK Gluten-Free Chef of the Year competition, which is judged by the renowned chef and two Michelin starred Raymond Blanc.
Candice Webber of The Restaurant at St Paul’s Cathedral was presented with the award at Blanc’s award-winning restaurant and hotel, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire.
The competition was run in association with the Institute of Hospitality, and had two categories: Gluten-free Chef of the Year and Up-and-Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year. The competition, to design a three course gluten-free meal, was launched earlier this year to raise awareness and highlight the need for increased provision of gluten-free menu options for the 1 in 100 people in the UK with coeliac disease.
The Finchley chef’s entry stood out, according to judges, with a menu of poached Barradale egg, roast partridge, brussel tops and game pie and Regents park honey ice, roast figs and clementine cake. As runner-up in the competition she received a set of knives and a signed copy of Raymond Blanc’s latest cookery book.
Webber said: “I have always wanted to make sure that people with coeliac disease don’t feel that they are missing out. When cooking gluten-free you have to understand what your ingredients are and where they have come from, in an age of pre-prepared food, it is no bad thing for us all to learn more about ingredients and increase awareness for sustainable, seasonal produce.
I embrace catering for people with the condition as an adventure, discovering ways of creating fantastic food whilst avoiding conventional ingredients that contain gluten. The Gluten-free Chef of the Year competition is a fantastic way to increase awareness of coeliac disease and reveal how cooking gluten-free need not be restrictive.”
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