WYBOSTON LAKES CHEF CLINCHES CCE/IACC TITLE

Leigh Morris, Sous Chef at Wyboston Lakes’ Waterfront Conference Centre, has won the 2008 Conference Centres of Excellence/IACC Chefs’ Challenge. In doing so, he’s fulfilled a promise he made last year that he’d come back and win the overall title!

Leigh, who has been at Wyboston Lakes for three years, clinched the Gold Medal with a menu of seared sea bass, roast stuffed loin of pork and a raspberry and banana dessert. His main course and dessert also won their individual award categories.

The Chefs’ Challenge invites entries from the 37 members of the CCE consortium of specialist conference venues, and from members of IACC, the International Association of Conference Centres. Now in its tenth year, it is a showcase for many of the conference industry’s top talents – its winners regularly go on to achieve further national and international competition success. Finalists are selected on the basis of menus submitted on paper, and then compete in an ‘against the clock’ cook-off at South Warwickshire College.

Leigh reached the finals of last year’s competition, where he won the ‘Best Main Course’ category. “I made a promise then to our Executive Chef Fergus Martin that this year I’d win the overall title,” he commented. Leigh was part of the Wyboston Lakes team that won five medals - including two golds - at the Hotelympia ‘Salon Culinaire’ competition in February.

The Silver Medal winner was Andrew Walmsley, Chef de Partie at Highgate House in Northamptonshire, and the Bronze award went to Peter Anderson, Sous Chef at Ashorne Hill near Leamington Spa, who also won the ‘Best Nutritional Balance’ category. ‘Best Starter’ was won by Josh Fox of the Wellcome Trust near Cambridge, who also won the’ Best Menu Balance’ award.  

In the remaining individual awards, Matthew Burns of Aston Business School Conference Centre won the 'Best Hygiene' category; and Nick Jeffels of the Manor House in Godalming won the 'Best Wine Selection’ award.

The 2008 awards took place at Scarman House conference venue, part of the Warwick Conferences group. “The Challenge shows the determination of specialist conferences to provide leading edge standards of cuisine,” said CCE Chair Kay England, who presented Leigh with his winner’s trophy: “Every one of the chefs who made the final achieved a superb standard under the twin demands of time and a top level panel of judges.”

Attached picture shows winner Leigh Morris (right) with CCE Chair Kay England.

Further information
MGK Communications, Michael Kennedy
0121 605 4048. michaelkennedy@talk21.com