Archive for September 2010
Nerves were on edge as the young attendees arrived in the product development kitchen at Poultec Training in Mattishall, to take part in an inaugural Young Chef Competition. The competition was part of Poultec’s events to celebrate the 2010 Norfolk Food Festival.
The Winning Young Norfolk Chefs 2010.
The judges, Martin Ponsford from the Kings Head Hotel in Hoveton and Paul Carter from INTO Norwich kicked off the ‘Ready, Steady, Cook’ style competition with a few words of encouragement.
James Cunningham, a trainee chef for Gresham’s School dived straight in to find his ingredients and started by making a stock for his chicken, this was finished off with a white sauce and garnish.
Jessica Lowery, a student, made a traditional pan fried vegetable pasta dish.
Ben Pledger, an apprentice chef at Café Verde, prepared a chicken and pasta stroganoff with a creamy sauce.
The winner, Poppie Mann, a trainee chef from The Lodge in North Tuddenham, produced a vegetable couscous, topped with chicken, baby sweetcorn and carrots.
Winning Dish by Lodge Chef Poppie Mann.
In second place, Tom Harris, from South Green Park, started with a roasted Mediterranean vegetable couscous topped with pork chops and a creamy mushroom sauce, followed by pears poached in red wine.
In third place, Rachel Bradshaw, from Poultec Training, used chicken which encased a garlic and herb butter with spicy potatoes, followed by a plum crumble.
The judges were impressed with all of the dishes and had a tough decision to make with very few points between all of the contestants. Martin Ponsford applauded the young chefs, saying “…you should carry on with your future careers in catering”. “You can all have a job in my kitchen” added Paul Carter.
Prizes of chef knives, a cookery book and a voucher together with certificates were presented to the contestants by Edward Bales, Managing Director of Poultec Training.
The bar was set high at the first cook off to be held at Poultec Training, and left everyone with a taste for the competition next year.
Those of you that followed publicans Anthea and Roger Cawdron (now at The Ribs of Beef in Norwich, which sees its 25th anniversary this month) at the Adam & Eve in the 70’s & 80′s will remember their old banjo band. They also played at Anthea and Roger’s last night at The Mischief in 1989.
Now, with some expert persuasion (and at great expense!), they have persuaded them to reform and play on one of their music nights.
If you didn’t see them, well don’t miss this chance. They are fabulous entertainment (in addition to their musical prowess) and how often do you get the opportunity go to a gig that involves a washboard & tea chest?
It has taken some doing to get this amazing line up together again (it is likely to be a reunion more celebrated than Take That). If you are too young to know about this band of boys (now slightly older…ahem) come along for the experience.
Anthea says “If you were one of the rare old Adam & Eve crowd, it’s a good excuse for us all to meet up – before it’s too late…”
The Resurrection Banjo Band at The Ribs of Beef, Fye Bridge, Sunday October 8th. From 8pm.
Polycomical Studios is a Norwich group dedicated to the promotion of young and emerging artists.
Reynard City, a comic-book style cartoon about a group of superhero foxes that come to Earth to stop Mega Fox and his robot army taking over the city, is to be their first title to be released online.
Superhero Foxes from Reynard City.
Run by Rob Turner, from Beccles, the Polycomical Group also includes Dan Butcher as Head of Comic Artwork and Ana Brooke performing animation.
Inspired by the cartoons we grew up with (most of us have had the conversation that begins “Do you remember…?”), albeit a slightly more surreal style, the concept of Reynard City and its characters (Wondervixen, AK Girl, Hyper Rob, to name a few) have existed in Rob’s head for as long as he can remember. Over the past 4-5 years, with the inception of Polycomical, other people have become involved, giving ‘life’ to the project in terms of characters and voices.
As well as the webcomic, Polycomical are working on a cartoon pilot in conjunction with local production company Nudge Productions. In a few years time, Rob’s aim is to make Reynard City a fully-fledged cartoon series.
In the past, Rob has funded the project himself. Whist working on a gangster film called ‘Stagger’, Rob met most of the people who now supply the voice for Reynard City, as well as Nudge Productions’ Linda Hook, who he says has been crucial in pulling together a full cast.
Now, Polycomical is looking for local businesses who can help propel them to the next stage by offering Sponsorship Packages at a cost of £25.
Robs says “Our £25 sponsorship packages offer a low cost way of promoting your business and will help us repay the efforts of our hardworking team. The Sponsorship Packages will also afford a link on our website and an advert on our promotional material, among other things”.
“We are also looking for people to help sell the sponsorship packages. Anyone who works with us will get a share in our profits and we will always offer references and assistance to people who help us. It’s a really fun project to be involved with”, he adds.
It certainly sounds like Polycomical and Reynard City might have an exciting and interesting future. Providing caramel inflation, disgruntled ex-caterers, a flamboyant Mexican stalker and some dark secrets don’t spoil things of course…
Mega Fox from Reynard City.
You can see the comic, find out more about the cartoon pilot and try out the personality test at www.reynardcity.co.uk. If you have any questions, you can get in touch at will2000uk@yahoo.com
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- 18/05/2012 - Norwich 20 Group – Looking into 20 – paintings and sculpture at The Forum May 18, 2012
- 18/05/2012 - Tony Foster Paintings/Angela Harding Prints May 18, 2012