In the challenge to find the perfect dish to bring out all the characteristics of gorgonzola dolce and piccante cheese, Edgaras Lindinas won the first prize of £250 worth of Russums vouchers with his dessert of macadamia and gorgonzola cheesecake made using the dolce variety with chocolate sorbet, which the judges thought was particularly stunning and delicious.
Lindinas, who works at The Hakkasan restaurant in London and comes to WKC one day a week, was full of praise for his chef lecturer Ashley Spencer and The Hakkasan chefs for the help and mentoring they gave him.
In second place was Marzena Nowakowska from the Crown Moran Hotel in Cricklewood with her starter of savoury crème brûlée with gorgonzola, and in third place was Israel Tortora with gorgonzola dolce stuffed fillet of beef with a gorgonzola piccante and wild mushroom cream sauce. They won £150 and £50 worth of Russums vouchers respectively. All the finalists received one year’s free membership to the Craft Guild of Chefs.
Organised by the Gorgonzola Consortium in partnership with the Craft Guild of Chefs, each chef had to produce a brasserie style starter, main or dessert that included gorgonzola as an integral part of the dish. Time allowed was two hours to guarantee that a fantastic dish was going to be presented.
The judging panel included: Gianluca Corradino, head chef at I Due Ladroni restaurant in Novara, Italy, on behalf of the consortium; WKC head of culinary arts and hospitality Gary Hunter; WKC chef lecturer Barry Jones; Craft Guild CEO Martin Bates; and editor of Stockpot Sheila Eggleston.
Considering it was the first time they had done a competition before judges, they cooked well, methodically and held their own, said Hunter.