When they had the opportunity to represent the new East Dorset district at the county cooking competition, they jumped at the chance. The competition required them to cook a three-course meal of a European country to celebrate this year’s Eurojam. Their immediate thoughts were of the variety flavours and the striking colours offered by Spanish tapas cuisine.

Taking the challenge

Unlike many of their competitors, instead of cooking one dish for each course, they took on the almighty challenge of creating eleven dishes in the required two hours! All of this must also come to within £15 for the cost of food and be able to feed 4 people.

Selecting such a large and complicated menu was not only to give themselves a challenge, but also to encompass the tapas concept of a number of smaller dishes instead of one larger one.

The final menu

The final table layout.

After many practise sessions and fiddling with the recipes and menu, their final range of culinary delights were:

Starter
Gazpacho Andaluz (chilled Andalucian vegetable soup)

Main
Remójon (orange and pink salmon salad)
Calamares – (deep-fried squid with lemon)
Pulpo a la Gallego – (Galician style octopus)
Chorizo Con Aceitunas y Salsa Picanté (paprika sausage with olives in spicy sauce)
Cerdo Con Aceitunas Negra (diced pork medallion casserole with black olives)
Piperada – (basque-style eggs)
Patatas Bravas (crispy potatoes in spicy sauce)
Tortilla de Patatas (spanish potato omelette)
Pan de Ajo (fresh bread and garlic dip)

Dessert
Naranja Quemado Con Azafrán (Burnt Orange and Saffron Pudding)

Drinks
Sangría Innocenté

Competition day

The award winning dessert.

When it came to the competition day, nerves were racing and everyone was anxious to get on with it. When it came to cooking time, everything ran smoothly. That is for except the lack of sugar! This problem was soon conquered when Longham gallantly swapped their lighter for some sugar with another team.

Reaping the rewards

Receiving their hard-earned award.

The end result of their hard work and perspiration was their best cooking yet. The judges were very impressed with how the team organised themselves, the quality of their food and their attention to kitchen hygiene. All of this paid off when they received the results. They were awarded 3rd place, only 6 points out of 200 behind 1st. This was remarkable considering that it is their first attempt, 7 teams were taking part and many of these had competed before. To top it all off though, the team received the best dessert award!