This is Dorset --LAST Saturday saw the 4th International Barbecue Competition in aid of Msaada at Orchard Park, Gillingham. Organisers, judges and visitors were overwhelmed by the standard and variety of cooking on show as six local teams battled it out over five categories including best pork dish, best steak dish and best pudding.
All the teams showed that they were not afraid to experiment with unusual combinations and came up with some innovative BBQ ideas, including sausage cassoulet with caramelised onions, citrus chicken, oriental steak and a raspberry and lime cake.
The meat for the competition came from the award winning Lagan Farm Shop at Orchard Park - it was hard for the teams to resist eating what they had cooked before it got to the judging table! The pork, from local farms at Manston and the beef from the Lagan Farm herd of British Whites, came in for particular mention.
Sally and Libby Page with colleague Bruno represented France and were the overall winners with a team from North Dorset Rugby Club coming a close second.
The standard was so high that it was a difficult task for the judges, including Colin Gray from Weber Barbecues and Bob & Linda Farrand of the Guild of Fine Food.
"What amazed me was the sheer inventiveness of the contestants, and the overall quality of the cuisine, all delivered with bags of enthusiasm!" said Bob
Colin agreed: "Weber are involved with the greatest competitions in Europe and in America, and the standard here would match those."
Orchard Park managing director Richard Cumming, who took part in the competition, said " This was a terrific day for us. As an authorised Weber centre we do put effort into our barbecue department. Our own team of Hannah and Shaun from the café with me making weight, did really well but will really pull the stops out next year now that we can see what the competition is like!" Reported by This is 12 hours ago.