With just one month to go until the Jersey Hospitality Association’s Zest festival, they’ve released more information about their plans for the event. CEO of the JHA, Simon Soar, told us how their Ready Steady Cook evening on 28 March is due to be a highlight of the festival.
With two top chefs heading up two teams of familiar local faces, the stage is set for this year’s Ready Steady Cook competition to be a night to remember. For the JHA, it was obvious that the evening should be a key part of their plans for this year’s Zest festival.
“We had so much interest in the event last year and the atmosphere on the night was just incredible. It was such a highlight of the Zest festival that we knew we had to repeat it this year and we’re really excited about what we’ve got organised.”
In true Ready Steady Cook style, on the evening each chef will be paired up with one of the two teams, who will provide them with a shopping bag full of surprise ingredients that they need to work with to create a winning three course meal. Luckily the chefs visiting Jersey for the event should have the experience necessary to come up with something impressive.
THE CHEFS
Justin Saunders
Having won the event last year, Justin Saunders is coming back to defend his title this March. With a career that saw him start working with Marco Pierre White at Harveys before moving on to The Canteen and The Oak Room, he has plenty of experience working with the very best. Having seen Marco earn his third Michelin star during his time there, Justin then moved to another three Michelin star restaurant when he worked at Chez Nico under Nico Ladenis. Justin went on to launch many restaurants in London including High Timber, Tanner and Co and most recently The Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden. Now he’s hoping for more success with his team at Ready Steady Cook in Jersey.
Hugues Boutin
Director and Head Chef of the Culinary Arts Institute in Varna, Hugues Boutin has over 25 years of experience in the industry, ranging from teaching at cooking schools to working in fine dining hotels and restaurants around the world. He has worked in establishments such as the Little Nell in Aspen, ranked among the top 25 hotels in the USA, and the three Michelin star restaurant Bernard Loiseau’s “La Côte d’Or” in Burgundy, France. As a recognized culinary expert, Hugues is often invited to judge various competitions and he has also coached various culinary teams to first place in cups and competitions. Now he’s hoping to lead his Ready Steady Cook team to a similar victory.
THE TEAMS
Vicky Trehorel
Vicky is the Town Centre and Events Manager for St Helier. A well-known face around the parish, she’s used to encouraging people to fill their shopping bags to support local retail. For the Ready Steady Cook evening, she’ll be the one filling her shopping bag with an eclectic range of ingredients to challenge her chef.
Rory and Ava Steel
Rory Steel recently hit the headlines when he built an adapted Nintendo Switch controller for his nine-year-old daughter Ava, who has hereditary spastic paraplegia which affects her motor control and speech. Rory is Head of the Digital Academy Jersey and had to put all his technical knowhow to use to build the device. Now he’ll be providing his chef with a bag of ingredients and hoping he can come up with something just as successful.
THE AUDIENCE
The evening isn’t just about watching the two top chefs at work though – the audience will have plenty of opportunity to get involved. The event will start with a wine and cheese pairing for everyone to take part in.
“The wine and cheese pairing was one of the highlights of last year’s Zest festival. The audience will get the opportunity to taste four wines paired with four cheeses, with everyone taking part at the same time and discussing their thoughts. There should be some unusual pairings in there to show the breadth of what’s available on the market, and hopefully open people’s eyes to what can work.”
Then, following the team competition, both chefs will be given a large quantity of oysters which they need to suggest a recipe for on the evening. Both options will then get put to the public vote.
“The audience will vote for whichever recipe they prefer and then both chefs will need to prepare that dish, which everyone will get to try at the end of the evening. It’s a great way of making the evening interactive for everyone, as well as challenging the chefs’ creative skills and showing off our local produce.”
What: Ready Steady Cook
When: Saturday 28 March, 6pm – 9pm
Where: Tiffin Teahouse
Cost: £5
To get your tickets for the event visit Eventbrite: https://zestreadysteadycook2020.eventbrite.co.uk/
