Budding Lancashire Chef Wins College Masterchef
Up and coming Lancashire chef Jamie Elkin has won the coveted Masterchef title of 2018 in a competition between students from Lancaster and Morecambe College and Furness College. The Masterchef competition is an annually contested title between some of the finest young chefs in the North Lancashire and South Cumbria region.
Elkin, who combines his studies at Lancaster and Morecambe College with his full-time role of Chef de Partie at The Lodge just outside Lancaster, wowed the judges with his main Ballotine of Chicken, cream of asparagus puree, salted potato rosti and salt and pepper garlic mushrooms. He followed this up with Lemon Meringue with Almond Brittle and Macaron and Berry compote.
“I was thrilled to take part but never expected to win,” said Jamie, “the standard was exceptionally high, so I had to be on my game.” For the last year Jamie has been honing his craft at the Lodge under experienced Head Chef Sam Pierce. “We’re over the moon with Jamie. We’ve trialed some of Jamie’s work on the specials recently and the feedback has been terrific. He’s a hard-working guy and we’re really looking forward to seeing his career develop in future.”
Hannah and Martin Horner, owners of The Lodge had equal high praise for Jamie. “Jamie is a lovely young man and we knew when we first met him that he was keen to progress,” said Martin. “We’ve made a significant investment into the Lodge which started with bringing an experienced Head Chef like Sam in. Identifying young talent like Jamie is absolutely vital to the future of the business so we’re thrilled with his success in the Masterchef competition.”
So, will Jamie be creating anymore dishes for The Lodge? “Jamie is always looking for opportunities to input to dishes and with Sam’s guidance we’re sure he’ll get the opportunities to try things with our loyal customer base,” Martin added.
Anyone who wants to know more about the quality of Jamie’s food will find The Lodge on Main Road in Slyne, just 2 minutes from Junction 34 of the M6 at Lancaster.