The Cuisine Cup contest took place this Saturday at L’atelier des Chefs, in Wigmore street.

You have perhaps heard about the free contest for foodie lovers that L’atelier des Chefs organises. To be selected participants had to post on (http://www.cuisinecup.com/en/) a recipe ready in one hour around Norwegian salmon for 4 people.

12 participants had been selected by our chefs last week and this Saturday, these cooks competed during the whole day for the 1/8 final and the quarter final.

Let me tell you what happened on 19 Wigmore street yesterday:

9:00 am: All the participants were welcomed around a delicious breakfast before the contest. Stress began to reach our participants as soon as they knew when they will start cooking thanks to the draw.

9:30 am: Helene, the first participant, began to cook her salmon recipe. She cook during one hour before showing her dish to the jury who tasted it and gave her a mark.

The Jury was made of 4 foodie lovers:

• Niamh who is the “Trusted places” blogger and who is found of food

• Pascal Aussignac, chef of the club Gascon. Pascal Aussignac was awarded "français of the year - best Chef" in 2007 in England

• Will Torrent: confectionary, pastry chef. Will Torrent is an up and coming cooking star. He is barely 22 years old but he already had the chance to work with some of the best chefs in the UK

Will Torrent, Pascal Aussignac, Jean-Sebastien Bompoil our French chef, Baldwin

• Jerome: our manager, ready to be impressed and to taste knew culinary creations!

From 9:30 am to 12:20 pm: the 12 participants followed one another to prepare their recipe and show it to the jury. The jury had the chance to taste amazing dishes such as Salmon with Caramelised Fennel en Papillote , Salmon Mille-feuille with its salty milk-shake , Roasted salmon served with spinach, roasted tomatoes and pesto , Spicy marinated salmon skewers, Leek frayed scented with clementines, ginger and passion fruit foam , Double salmon Tartare , crusty popato rosti, agamamé puree with a soya emulsion...

Admire the result of the candidates’ hard work:

Emmanuel's dish:Roasted salmon, lime condiment, black and yellow polenta fingers

12:30 pm: The Jury chose 4 of the 12 candidates, 4 semi finalists who were about to run the second part of the contest in the afternoon.... Even if all the dishes were delicious, the jury had to make a decision. The selected candidates were:

• Ilyas for his Grilled salmon, smoked milk, matcha and avruga meringue. On top of the good taste of this course, he made the difference thanks to the black (of the plate) and white ( of the sauce) presentation.

• Emmanuel for his Roasted salmon, lime condiment, black and yellow polenta fingers. Emmanuel made a quite original presentation and impressed with its amazing sauce that left his dish

• Luke (who is a 15 year old boy) with his "Roasted salmon served with spinach, roasted tomatoes and pesto". His dish was the only one to make sens: all the flavours were linked to each other. All members of the jury agreed on the fact that it was the only dish they really wanted to finish ( While it is quite hard to finish 12 dishes!!)

• Nathalie for her Spicy marinated salmon skewers, Leek frayed scented with Clementines, ginger and passion fruit foam. This was a typical feminine and nice dish!

Luke, Nathalie, Ilyas

Emmanuel

After a nice lunch with the jury, the members of staff and the candidates, the quarter final started: The candidates had to create a dish for 4 people, ready in 1 hour and a half with a piece of Lamb and a garnished basket ( potatoes, parsnips, onions, fresh herbs vegetables, butter, eggs, white wine, cognac...). As in the morning, the jury tasted all the courses and gave marks.

The jury was delight and...Totally full! They were quite impressed by the imagination and the quality of these dishes.

And the winner was...Luke by far!!!!

Luke is a 15 year old young guy who trained a lot before attending Cuisine Cup. He is a foodie lover and has been cooking since the age of 10. He cooked a delicious Rack of Lamb served with honey glazed parsnips, carrots and mashed potatoes.

Congratulation to all and we hope that you enjoyed this culinary day at L’atelier des Chefs!

Want to cook some salmon this evening? Try Luke’s recipe!

Roasted salmon served with spinach, roasted tomatoes and pesto

Ingredients for 6 poeple:

• 1 fillet of Norwegian Salmon (800g)
• Olive oil
• 100g of butter
• 400g of spinach leaves
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Balsamic vinegar
• 4 vines of cherry tomatoes
• 200g of pine nuts
• 8 large handfuls of fresh basil leaves
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. For the salmon, heat the oil in an ovenproof pan until smoking and add the salmon, skin side down.fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the skin is crisp and golden. Turn the salmon over and fry for another 1-2 minutes, or until lightly golden. Transfer to the oven and cook for 6-7 minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.

3. For the spinach, melt the butter in a clean frying pan and cook the spinach for 3-4 minutes, or until wilted, then season with salt and pepper.

4. For the roasted tomatoes, heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan. add the tomatoes and stir to coat with the oil. Season with salt and pepper, add the balsamic vinegar, then place into the oven until soft.

5. For the pesto, place the basil, the oil, pine nuts, salt, pepper and the garlic and blend in a food processor until a smooth paste.

6. To serve, pile the wilted spinach onto the serving plate and top with the seared salmon. spoon the roasted cherry tomatoes alongside, then drizzle with the pesto.