Fenland celery and Newmarket sausages the stars of award winning creation by Cambridgeshire chef

Winning celery and sausage chef competition (Image: Archant)

The competition celebrates two of the region’s outstanding foods, Fenland Celery and Powters Newmarket sausages.

Both products have designated PGI status (Protected Geographic Indication) putting them in a select club that includes champagne and parmesan cheese.

Throughout November East Anglian restaurants used PGI ingredients, Fenland Celery and Powters Newmarket Sausages, to create a new dish to show off their expertise and celebrate these special local products.

The winning dish, created by head chef Calvin Holland, impressed the judges with a local twist on the classic “beans on toast.” Customers were brought a smoking cloche, under which they found an apple and Fenland celery toasted brioche, served with a bespoke can of beans containing smoked Powters sausages.

Jessica Felton-Page of G’s Fresh, Fenland Celery growers was one of the judges.

She said: “The White Pheasant should be congratulated for their efforts. The flavours were perfectly balanced in this delicious dish – and the wonderfully theatrical presentation means The White Pheasant deserves to be placed firmly on the regional food map.”

On receiving the award, the team at The White Pheasant said: “The competition created a real buzz among local chefs, especially on twitter. Competing regionally was fun and it was great to have the opportunity to cook something different in the run up to Christmas. It really did show off what’s great about food here in the East!”

After a successful first year of the competition the team at G’s Fresh and Powters are looking forward to collaborating again. They hope to encourage local chefs to show off the region’s produce and their skills and enhance East Anglia’s place on the foodie map of Great Britain.