RAF Halton chefs win awards at RAF competition
Two civilian ESS contract chefs from RAF Halton entered the Royal Air Force culinary competition held at the Food Service Wing at Worthy Down. This was the first entry from RAF Halton since the catering training squadron was moved to Worthy Down at the end of 2011.
Mark Bucket, Head Chef at Halton House Officers’ Mess and Damien Mankowski, Head Chef at the Maitland Mess, both competed in the open pasta competition. As first time competitors, they were both well prepared but very nervous, being the only civilian competitors.
The standard on the day was extremely high in all classes, and both Mark and Damien were very impressed and a little bit anxious at seeing so many well executed dishes. However, when the time came for their class, they both quickly set to work on the dishes they had devised and developed. With attentiveness and care they both produced their dishes on time and to a high standard.
Both were immensely proud of their achievements’ and when the awards were called out at the ceremony, Damien had achieved a bronze medal for his Ravioli filled with pancetta and soft egg yolk, on a bed of creamed spinach served with a hollandaise sauce, while Mark received a silver medal for his braised beef tortellini with seasonal vegetables and a clear beef broth.
An excellent result for their first time, and both are now looking forward to competing at the Joint Caterer competition at Shrivenham.