Former army caterer wins Heinz recipe competition

The winning chef cooked up a French classic dish – Toulouse Sausage Cassoulet, using Heinz beans as the main ingredient. Judges Gary Barnshaw, culinary innovations manager for Heinz, and Martin Bates, chief executive of the Craft Guild of Chefs awarded Stevens with a five day trip to Boston, home of the Boston bean. The competition's aim was to challenge caterers to think of new ways to use Heinz Beans and bring some excitement to the menu. Stevens said: "Entering competitions broadens my horizons, and I pick up a lot of tips and ideas that I use to tweak my own dishes. It allows me to channel my creativity and keeps me up to date with the catering industry." Bates commented: "It's an ideal dish for the contract catering market but equally, would work well as individual portions for a bistro or gastro pub. Jason served it with red cabbage which was a lovely touch and showed he had a vision for the dish in its entirety." Stevens spent 14 years in army catering, and moved to contract catering seven years ago. Weblink: www.heinzfoodservice.co.uk