Media Centre

Rail chefs set for final cook-off

11 Nov 2008

Talented National Express rail chefs from Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds and London are preparing to compete for the coveted title of Chef of the Year after a hotly-contested cook-off on Tyneside.

Two winners, one from the north of the East Coast Main Line and the other from the south, will go forward to take on a chef from sister company National Express East Anglia at a final event in York on 25 November.

The northern area winner at the regional contest, held at the Tyne Metropolitan College in Wallsend on Saturday (8 November), was Colin Pattie, with runner-up James Gilbert – while the southern area winner was Shaun Garrett, with runner-up Mick Reading.

Eugene McCoy, proprietor of the prestigious Tontine restaurant in North Yorkshire, and business partner Marcus Bennett led the judging panel, which saw 12 National Express East Coast chefs battle it out in a cook-off against the clock.

The four finalists, who daily prepare high-quality meals in small kitchens on-board National Express East Coast’s trains, were each given a box of ingredients and asked to produce a main course dish suitable for serving on-board National Express trains.

The winners and runners-up from both heats are now preparing for the final cook off, where they will join the winning chef from National Express East Anglia. The final will take place on Tuesday 25 November at the National Railway Museum in York and will be judged by celebrity chef Rowley Leigh, chef proprietor of Le Café Anglais, and National Express Trains Managing Director David Franks.

National Express East Coast Head of Catering, Darren Fennah, said: “National Express has two train operating companies with great reputations for its catering, especially in the on-board restaurant, so what better than to have the best two on-board catering teams in the UK compete to find out who is the best overall."

“National Express East Coast and East Anglia chefs are set to prove that freshly cooked food on a train can be compared with that prepared and served at any top restaurant.

“National Express East Anglia has a great reputation for its restaurant service. The challenge at the final will be to see if the National Express East Coast chefs can better that reputation. The winner will receive the Chef of the Year trophy and their winning menu will feature as part of National Express’ on-board restaurant service.”

ENDS.