Congrats to my team...

Last month the boys and I entered the Fonterra Food Services Culinary Challenge at Fine Food Australia and I'm thrilled to say we won!

No small sum either - we shared the $10,000 between us (Jade Brandreth, Alan Davies and myself) and I was quite happy to spend my share on a holiday in Sydney.

We were up against the best in the business, competing against teams from Hotel Sofitel and Atlantic Group, and were judged to the highest standards. Our temporary kitchen was no larger than 10m squared and we had to prepare everything from scratch - nothing was allowed to be brought in from off-site aside from the odd condiment.

Whilst the boys and I are certainly accustomed to preparing top-quality food for large functions, doing it in a small, temporary kitchen with judges hovering near by certainly tested our under-pressure skills!

For the two-course a la carte menu for 30 pax we chose:

· Butter poached Western Australian marron, foie gras and chicken liver parfait, apple jelly and Sauternes reduction

· Assiette of new season lamb, white asparagus, minted pea puree, rosemary and morel velouté

The dishes are on our spring menu, so I invite you all to come in and sample the winning dishes!