Tasty Cornish Catering challenge

A catering team from the Rose-in-Vale beat five other teams at a catering competition

Local chefs from around the county have been battling it out in a hotly fought culinary competition.

The Cornish Catering challenge is run by Cornwall Catering Excellence, a group of local businesses who aim to boost the Cornish economy.

Celebrity chefs Nathan Outlaw and Paul Ainsworth were on the panel of judges assessing the six teams competing.

The team from the Valley Restaurant at the Rose-in-Vale Hotel, Mithian were crowned champions of the contest.

Finest ingredients

Teams from The Ferryboat Inn, The Rose-in-Vale, Falmouth Beach Resort, The Green Lawns, The Pandora Inn and The Coldstreamer, had to each serve twenty guests and the five judges.

The competition was judged on a number of levels.

Chefs Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw and were joined by Jon Waterhouse a pastry specialist at Cornwall College to judge the groups culinary performance whilst front of house experts Lorna Dunstan and Andrea Callis marked the teams on their service skills.

BBC Radio Cornwall's Daphne Skinnard compared the evening and spoke to a host of competitors, judges and past champions., You can hear her interview with the winning team in the right hand box.

The the Rose-in-Vale team's menu of pressed lobster ravioli with seared scallops, pork belly with homemade black pudding, and baked dark chocolate and hazelnut tart with milk ice cream, triumphed overall.

Afterwards, Nathan said, "These guys worked as a team, and it really showed through in the final product. They put a lot of thought into their vegetarian dishes and everything was well executed and showed good technique."

Paul Ainsworth added, "There were some outstanding individual dishes from all the teams. However consistency won the day. Everything from the Rose-in-Vale was of a high standard."

First prize included prize money of £100 each, plus vouchers worth £500 as well as an event trophy.

The Valley's Head Chef, Colin Hankins felt the accolade was the most valuable prize:

"We are so pleased that all our hard work has paid off. It has been really special to cook for Nathan and Paul and I think this competition will inspire us to new heights."