2013 culinary contest |16 November 2013
Winners get ready for fund-raising gala
The three course meal winners in this year’s Seychelles national culinary contest are Pat Monthy (starter), Erryl Morel (main course) and Evans Zialor (dessert).
The three winners will serve their winning dish in a fund-raising gala dinner to be organised by the Seychelles Tourism Academy (STA). They will get the support of chef Lionel Rigolet, who was also a member of the jury for the finals.
Although the gala dinner date has not been set yet, it will take place sometimes in March 2014 at the brand new STA premises. The fund raised from the gala dinner will go entirely to the STA like previous years.
Food specialist Christelle Verheyden led the group of jury which also comprised Rigolet, STA principal Flavien Joubert, Dereck Savy and Philippe Emond.
The finalists received the list of 60 ingredients called “the basket” that they used. In each category, the contestants had a main ingredient in the basket. For the starter contest the mandatory ingredient was epic clams in half shell. For the main course contest it was Rougie duck fillet whereas Boiron apricot puree was the main ingredient for the dessert contest. All the ingredients were sponsored by ISPC Seychelles.
The preliminaries took place on October 1, 3 and 4 at La Plage Restaurant at Beau Vallon and were judged by ISPC Seychelles’ chief executive officer Alfred Fourcroy and food specialist Christelle Verheyden.
The finals were held on October 29, 30 and 31 at the STA, La Misère.
The prizes have been sponsored by Air Seychelles and Cable & Wireless. The winners received a return ticket with Air Seychelles, a seven-night stay at the Constance Hotel Bel Mar Plage in Mauritius, and 500 euros sponsored by Cable & Wireless.
The runners-up and third place finishers received prizes like: Golden chef’s knives and other valued kitchen tools sponsored by ISPC Seychelles.
The competition was open to professional chefs, sous-chefs or commis who hold a certificate and they must be working in hotels, restaurants or take-aways. All competitors had to be over 18 years and must have been working at least six months in the work place they represented.
The contest which gave Seychellois the opportunity to test their ability and skills in cooking was organised by the STA in collaboration with the ISPC Seychelles.
Starter category winner: Pat Monthy (photo by Joena Bonnelame)
Runner-up Dean Camille and third place finisher Hildy Sinon
The other finalists for the starter category were: Marcus Freminot, Terry Mothe and Patrick Barbe.
Main course category winner: Erryl Morel (photo by Alfred Fourcroy)
Runner-up Hildy Morel and third place finisher Pat Monthy
The other finalists for the main course were: Marcus Freminot and Patrick Barbe.
Dessert category winner: Evans Zialor (photo by Georges Michel)
Runner-up Yanne Ladouceur and third place finisher Erryl Morel
The other finalists for the dessert category were: Patrick Barbe and Fabien Freminot