11:43am Monday 29th June 2009
By Herald Reporter
A CHEF is polishing his pans and ironing his whites in preparation for the final of a national cookery competition.
Mark Ord, head chef at Sanctuary Care’s Wantage Nursing Home, beat off stiff competition to secure his place in the final of the National Association of Care Catering’s Care Cook of the Year competition.
The 48-year-old chef won through against three rivals in the south-east regional final earlier this year.
Now his menu of roast pork belly stuffed with black pudding, followed by a plum crumble tart with almond frangipane will be sampled by judges at the final on Thursday, July 9, at the University College Birmingham.
Mr Ord. of Haywards Close, Wantage, will compete against five other regional winners in a 90-minute cook-off.
Each menu will be judged on a range of factors, including innovation, cost, nutrition, balance and, of course, taste.
Mr Ord, who has worked at Wantage Nursing Home, in Garston Lane, since it opened in April last year, said he was overwhelmed to be in the final.
He said: “It’s brilliant. I’m really pleased and it’s great news for the home.
“Everyone was nervous on the day of the regional final and it was hard work cooking in a strange kitchen, but it all came together.
“I’m really looking forward to the final and hope that my dishes will go down well with the judges.”
The residents at the nursing home, proud of their chef’s success, have been using their taste buds to help Mr Ord refine his dishes.
Carole Dormer, Sanctuary Care’s hotel and catering services manager, said: “I am immensely proud of Mark and delighted that he has been given the chance to showcase his individual dishes and raise the profile of care chefs and cooks within Sanctuary Care.”
The competition, for chefs and cooks in the care sector, challenges them to create a main course and dessert for four people which is suitable for service users in a care setting and costs no more than £1.30 per head.
Mr Ord’s menu cost exactly the stipulated £1.30.
The contest, which is aimed to raise the profile of catering in care establishments, is one of the longest standing independent recipe competitions in the UK.
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