Left to right: Rita Brugnoli, Gus Curtis, Otylia Polczynska, Emma Sprake and Steve Walpole
This week, 13 students from Capital City College, Westminster took to the kitchens to compete for the title of Truffle Masterchef, in the final of a competition set by the chef’s truffle brand of choice, La Rustichella.
The competition, which attracted around 60 entries, challenged the third-year students to create an outstanding pair of dishes – either a canapé and a main course, or a petit four and a dessert – featuring ingredients from La Rustichella’s extensive portfolio of premium quality truffle products.
The initial entries were judged by the college’s Head of Third Year Professional Chef Diploma, Norman Fu and Chef Lecturer, Tom Egerton and Commercial Development Chef Chris Baston, who created a shortlist of 13 finalists.
Originally the competition was intended to feature only 10 students in the final but such was the high standard of entry, the judges felt it was fair to extend the opportunity to a further three students.
The final took place at the college, with students cooking in front of a panel of esteemed judges, which included professional chef Steve Walpole, editor of Chef & Restaurant magazine Claire Bosi, Floriana Canadè representing the Italian Embassy and the owner of La Rustichella, Rita Brugnoli.
The judges hailed student Emma Sprake as the outright winner, with her stunning due of dishes: Wild Mushroom Tartlet and Halibut with Truffle Potato Scales, Seasonal Mushrooms, Truffle Mash and Truffle Beurre Blanc. As the first prize winner, Emma will be travelling to Rome to enjoy a stage at La Rustichella’s restaurant, Love Truffles.
The runners up were Otylia Polczynska who produced an outstanding Black Truffle Macaron and Truffle Crème Brûlée served with Honey Truffle Figs and Gus Curtis whose Truffle Egg Crostini and Halibut and Truffle Hazelnut Pesto with Celeriac Puree also earned high praise from the judges. Both runners-up received cash prizes.
Commenting on the competition, La Rustichella’s Rita Brugnoli said,
“We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Capital City College, Westminster to launch the inaugural Truffle Masterchef competition. Our rationale for this initiative is to ensure that La Rustichella continues to not only appeal to the emerging culinary talent entering the world of hospitality, but to also align our brand with the creativity and inspiration associated with the younger generation, which we believe will enable our outstanding truffle-based products to remain relevant to the priority audience of discerning professional chefs.
We were impressed with the high standard of dishes produced by the students, and it was difficult to pin down one winner but ultimately we were unanimous in our decision to choose Emma as the recipient of the title, Truffle Masterchef.”
For more, please visit: https://larustichellatruffles.com/en/
