IT May be “fast” food, but there’s no denying the quality served up by chef Ann-Marie Beattie.
Ann-Marie, who works as a chef for York-based train operator East Coast, has been crowned the company’s first Chef Of The Year.
Ann-Marie’s tarragon chicken and seasonal vegetables followed by an Irish cream cheesecake impressed students at Manor CE Academy in York, who helped to judge the competition.
More than 50 chefs took part in the competition, which will see Ann Marie’s winning dishes introduced to East Coast’s on-board menu later next year. A former Army chef, Ann-Marie, from Newcastle, said: “I’ve got more than 1,000 cookery books but I’ve tried this recipe before and it always goes down well. It all went better than I expected, which I was surprised at considering the short time we had to prepare and produce the dishes.”
The chefs had an hour and a half to produce their two-course menu.
Students from Manor joined East Coast’s commercial and customer services director, Peter Williams, and Rail Gourmet’s executive chef, David Small, to judge the meals. East Coast’s catering product manager Ian Allison said “The five shortlisted chefs all worked extremely hard to reach the final stage.
“The strict budget and time available for them to create their dishes means they all had to be extremely creative.”
Anne-Marie said: “It’s great to share my experiences of being a chef and to inspire the students, who all asked lots of questions about becoming a chef on the railway.”
