Fuller's Chef makes final of Chef of the Year

Darren Massey, who trains the chefs at Fuller's pubs is one of six finalists

Fuller's executive chef, Darren Massey (left), has been selected as a finalist in the British Meat Chef of the Year Competition 2003, which will take place on Monday February 17, 2003 at British Meat's Head Office in Milton Keynes.

British Meat Foodservice is hunting out the crème de la crème of creative chefs who have been narrowed down to six finalists in each of the seven categories to become the British Meat Chef of the Year.

Darren is one of the finalists in the Development Chef of the Year category and is required to develop a ready-meal or value-added dish using beef, pork or lamb that reflects the style of cooking used in a foreign country.

Darren's dish is Baked Steak and Stilton Charlotte with a port and ale jus, accompanied by Pomme Anna potatoes and a puree of artichokes and creamed carrots.

The category winners were chosen for their ability to develop dishes, which demonstrate their skill and creativity, as well as their ability to respond to the environment in which they work.

Darren has worked for Fuller's for the past 19 months and is kept busy training pub chefs on their cooking techniques, teaching them kitchen management and developing menus for Fuller's pubs.

He entered the competition to encourage the pub chefs to participate and is delighted at having the chance to compete for the British Meat Chef of the Year title.

Darren said: "This competition is a fantastic opportunity for me and I feel that I have put a creative twist on the usual meat dish. This should create quite an interest and hopefully will win me the title."

Once all of the category winners have been selected at the end of March an overall winner will be chosen. The prize for the overall winner is £2,000 plus a personalised British Meat Chef of the Year Braggard chef's jacket, gold medal, champagne and the prestigious title. When asked what he would do with the prize money, Darren admitted he would love to buy a boat to help him indulge in his hobby of sea fishing.

January 29, 2003

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