Sussex Food & Drink Grand Finalists Banquet

Sussex Food and Drink Awards judges have tested and tasted their way through the very best eateries, producers, farmers, markets and food shops and have reviewed the votes of thousands of food and drink lovers in the county and following great debate, are ready to announce their verdict.

Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chair of the Judges, who oversaw the judges’ debate hosted at Knill James’s offices in Lewes, “Sussex produce is just getting better and better and is getting more famous every year in other parts of the country – we have a great deal to be proud of in this county!

“Once again, the quality and diversity of our finalists is superb and we have some exciting newcomers alongside old favourites. We are now looking forward to announcing our winners  at the Sussex foodie event of the year, the awards banquet, at the Amex on January 31, hosted by Sally Gunnell OBE and the BBC’s Danny Pike.”

The three grand finalists in each of the eight awards categories, strictly in alphabetical order, are:

Best Sussex Eating Experience, sponsored by Mayo Wynne Baxter Solicitors

The Cat, West Hoathly, West Sussex

The Ram Inn, Firle, East Sussex

Wabi, Horsham, West Sussex

Sussex Farmer of the Year, sponsored by Knill James

Harry Goring, the Wiston Estate, Steyning, West Sussex

Martin and Gundrada Hole, Montague Farm, Pevensey, East Sussex

Phil and Steve Hook, Longleys Farm, Hailsham, East Sussex

Sussex Food Producer of the Year, sponsored by The Southern Co-operative

Caroline’s Dairy, Sidlesham, West Sussex

High Weald Dairy, Horsted Keynes, West Sussex

Just Brownies, Partridge Green, West Sussex

Sussex Farmers Market of the Year, sponsored by Harveys

Chichester, West Sussex

Lewes, East Sussex

Steyning, West Sussex

Sussex Drink Producer of the Year, sponsored by Natural PR Ltd

Dark Star Brewing Co, Partridge Green, West Sussex

Ridgeview Wine Estate, Ditchling, East Sussex

Wobblegate, Bolney, West Sussex

Best Sussex Food/Farm Shop, sponsored by the Sussex Food & Drink Network

The Hungry Guest, Petworth, West Sussex

The Sussex Produce Company, Steyning, West Sussex

Veasey and Sons Fishmonger, Forest Row, East Sussex

Sussex Butcher of the Year, sponsored by Natural Farms

Archers, Westfield, East Sussex

Bramptons Butchers, Brighton, East Sussex

John Murray Butchers, Loxwood, West Sussex

Previously announced, Sussex Young Chef of the Year, sponsored by Gram UK Ltd and Cheese Please

Charlie Tayler, South Lodge, Horsham, West Sussex

Jimmy Gray, Jeremy’s Restaurant, Borde Hill, West Sussex

Ryan Hunter, Wingrove House, Alfriston, East Sussex

Said Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR, who organises the awards: “We made changes to the voting system for the Sussex Food & Drink Awards this year, including introducing text voting, and are delighted with the outcome, with each finalist receiving around three times more votes than in previous years.  The calibre of our grand finalists speaks volumes about the quality of the food and drink industry across the whole of the county.”

Tickets for the Sussex Food & Drink Awards banquet, a sumptuous seven-course Sussex feast and lively awards ceremony, on January 31 at the Amex Stadium, are now on sale at www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Snow Day at Royal Pavilion Ice Rink

This Saturday is snow day at the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink! The ice rink and Jamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts rinkside restaurant will be decked out in snow following a tv film shoot on Friday evening. 

Said Shella Parkin, MD of Laine Ltd which manages the rink: “This is a real one off – the rink already looks like a beautiful winter wonderland, but this weekend it will be even more festive, with a coating of snow – albeit synthetic – so a very special weekend to come down and enjoy the rink.”

The South East’s most beautiful ice rink is open from November 10 to January 20. With the former Royal pleasure palace as backdrop, the 800 square metre rink has space for 250 skaters per session, with a beginners area and skates from ‘just walking’ to adult sizes, offering seasonal fun and a unique and special Christmas experience.

Royal Pavilion Ice Rink tickets cost from £10 for adults and £7 for children under 12 and the one-hour skate times run from 10am to 10.15pm daily. This year off-peak prices run from 10am to 5.15pm, one hour longer than last year and schools can buy tickets for £4 per student. Box office is open from 9.30am to 9.45pm, but it is advisable to book tickets in advance. 

Buy your tickets now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/royal-pavilion-ice-rink or call 0844 8472352 or for group bookings of ten or more call 0844 8471512.

Sussex Young Chef Finalists Announced

Six of the best young chefs in Sussex took part in a sizzling cook off at City College Brighton & Hove to win the hotly contended Sussex Young Chef of the Year award, sponsored by Cheese Please and Gram UK Ltd, as part of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2012/13.

They were Charlie Tayler from The Pass at South Lodge Hotel in Lower Beeding, Paul Peach from The Horseguards Inn in Tillington, Jimmy Gray from Jeremy’s Restaurant at Borde Hill Gardens near Haywards Heath, Steve Pelling from The Felbridge Hotel in East Grinstead, Ryan Hunter from Wingrove House in Alfriston and Tom Goodchild from The Crabtree in Lower Beeding.

Each young chef was asked to prepare a three course meal made from locally sourced Sussex produce to be judged by an expert panel including Roy Perrett from the Craft Guild of Chefs, Leroy Clarke, Chef Lecturer and Course Manager at City College’s catering department, sponsors Fiona Kay of Cheese Please and Glenn Roberts of Gram UK Ltd and chair of judges, Clive Beddall OBE.

The young chefs were judged not only on the sourcing of ingredients but also on the taste, presentation, creativity, saleability and customer appeal of their menus and after much deliberation on the part of the judging panel the three finalists were agreed as follows:

Twenty-year old Charlie Tayler from South Lodge in Upper Beeding near Horsham, works as demi chef de partie in The Pass restaurant at the hotel.  His starter of scallops and butternut squash was followed by wood pigeon, finishing off with a blackberry cheesecake of outstandingly high standard which was singled out for particular praise by the judges.

 

Twenty-four-year-old Jimmy Gray from Jeremy’s Restaurant at Borde Hill Gardens near Haywards Heath produced a menu which was judged to be exceptionally creative.  The presentation of his butter poached lobster to start was excellent and was followed up by a main course of Sussex mallard, the ingredients for which were all produced within a five mile radius of Borde Hill.  The finale to his menu was a poached pear and Slipcote cheese mousse.

Twenty-year-old Ryan Hunter is the youngest of the three finalists and was delighted to be back cooking at City College Brighton & Hove where he did his training.  Now working as part of the team at Wingrove House in Alfriston, he produced a sea bass starter, freshly caught on the morning of the competition, followed by downland rabbit of exceptional taste and finishing off with a rice pudding complemented with a plum, apple and blackberry compote.

Roy Perrett, Vice President of the Craft Guild of Chefs who lives in Sussex said, “The six young chefs all produced menus of an amazing standard and selecting just three finalists was challenging with a display of such exceptional culinary skills.  It was a very exciting and highly competitive afternoon from which I have come away with the names and addresses of six fantastic Sussex eateries.”

Said Leroy Clarke, Chef Lecturer and Course Manager at City College’s Catering department, “When we have young chefs as talented as today’s competitors working in our restaurants and hotels, the hospitality and catering industry in Sussex has a great future and can only go from strength to strength.”

Other categories in these coveted awards include best Sussex eating experience, food producer, drink producer, farmer, food/farm shop, butcher and farmers market.  Winners and runners up will be revealed at the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’, the awards banquet, being held at the Amex Stadium on 31^st January 2013, hosted by Sally Gunnell OBE adn Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.  Tickets for the sumptuous seven-course Sussex feast and awards ceremony are now on sale.

To find out more visit www.sussexfoodawards.biz

Flying Time Aviation all set to help young people find their wings

Flying Time Aviation will be among companies encouraging youngsters to reach for the skies at a fun packed information day aimed at inspiring the next generation of pilots and aircraft engineers.

Shoreham (Brighton City) Airport-based Flying Time Aviation has been invited by Virgin Atlantic to attend their Future Flyers and Fixers Day, which will inform young people aged 13-25 years about potential career options within the aviation industry. The event, organised jointly by the airline’s Flight Operations and Engineering departments, takes place at Virgin’s multi-million pound training facility in Crawley on November 24.

Young people interested in a career path in aviation will be able to find out the answers to pertinent questions, from which GCSE subjects to study to become an aircraft engineer to how long it takes to qualify as a pilot.

Flying Time is one of the top training schools in the UK and is the only centre in the South East to offer the UK Civil Aviation Authority approved Flight Deck Programme, an intensive one-year course which leads to a Commercial Pilot Licence qualification - the minimum qualification that a European Airline would require from prospective pilots.

Flying Time MD Jonathan Candelon said: “We are flattered to have been invited to attend this event which aims to inspire young people to reach for the skies and look further into the exciting array of careers available within the aviation industry.”

“Flying Time Aviation will be on hand to explain how we assist dozens of prospective commercial pilots from the south east and across the globe to gain their wings every year.”

He added: “Some students will be very surprised at the diversity of career routes on offer. It’s a little known fact that you don’t need a degree to become a commercial pilot and that training can provide a cost effective alternative to undergraduate study. What is absolutely vital is that young people have the drive, energy, motivation and commitment to succeed in this demanding but highly rewarding career.”

Flying Time Aviation trains students from its base in Shoreham on its modern training fleet of Jet A-1 fuelled aircraft equipped with EFIS (Electronic Flight Instrument System), DA40 Diamond Stars, DA42 Diamond Twin Stars as well as flight deck simulators. Flying Time is the largest operator of Diamond aircraft in the UK.

Future Flyers and Fixers will take place at Virgin’s purpose built facility fitted with rigs which can simulate emergency procedures from an evacuation down a Boeing 747 slide to a smoke-filled cabin. Air Cadets, Gliding clubs and The Royal Navy will be among the industry partners attending. Virgin Atlantic pilots and engineers will also be on hand to share their experiences and young people can attend informative presentations from a variety of speakers.

The free event takes place at The Base, Fleming Way, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9LX. Participants should register their interest in the event at futureflyers.andfixers@flyvirgin.com.