Third time a charm for IFEX winner, James

Third time a charm for IFEX winner, James

Opened just nine months ago, Weaver’s Lodge in Gilford is home to this year’s IFEX Chef of the Year title winner, 31-year-old Markethill man, James Richardson…

James Richardson, head chef at Weaver’s Lodge in Gilford, recently clinched the Chef of the Year title during the fiercely contested Salon Culinaire competition at this year’s IFEX trade event in the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast.

James competed against five other local hopefuls to win the top ChefSkills accolade at the bi-annual exhibition. This was his third consecutive year of participation in the DARD NI Chef of the Year competition – at the previous two events, James was placed runner-up, losing out by just one point in 2014.

For James, this year’s win is vindication of his decision to follow his parents into the catering trade:

“Watching my mum and day was really what convinced me that I wanted to work in the trade,” James told LCN following his recent victory. “They ran an outside catering business based in a converted garage at our home in Markethill. They also had a chip van and eventually, they opened The Dolphin take-away in Markethill which they still have today.”

James achieved his NVQ level 3 at Newry Institute, during which he worked part-time at the Seagoe hotel in Portadown. From there, he took a job as pastry chef at The Oriel restaurant in Gilford, Co. Down and went on to compete in that discipline at the Worldskills event in Switzerland.

A brief stint back at the Seagoe followed before he re-located to The Planters in Waringstown. He enjoyed a little time out after that, then James secured his first head chef’s position at The Montagu Arms in Tandragee in 2009. He spent a year there and then worked for a period at the Bronte Steakhouse restaurant in Rathfriland before finally opening his own place – the Old Barn Steakhouse -back in his home town of Markethill.

The Old Barn traded for five years and then, in June last year, James came on as head chef at the newly-opened Weaver’s Lodge in Gilford.

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Weaver’s Lodge head chef, James Richardson with his IFEX Chef of the Year trophy.

He describes the atmosphere in the new restaurant as “overwhelmingly modern and contemporary”. It’s geared towards providing a casual dining, family-orientated environment with a focus on quality, locally-sourced ingredients and in-house preparation from scratch.

James works with a team of six chefs at the kitchens in Weaver’s Lodge and they can cater for up to 120 covers at a time in the restaurant.

Weaver’s Lodge also operates a busy outside catering business, covering events such as weddings and christening parties and it’s here that James feels the win at IFEX will have its greatest impact:

“I do think that the recognition gained from the Salon Culinaire win will be of most benefit in this end of the business,” he said. “I think, for example, that bride’s will be happy to have the Chef of the Year catering their wedding.”

James concedes that any point of differentiation is critical and can make the difference in an increasingly cluttered sector:

“There’s a bit of everything down here,” he added. “There are lots of restaurants nearby in Banbridge and Newry and the environment is very competitive, so it is very much about the price and the value of money that you’re offering, those really are the motivating factors in this area.”

He also said that he felt the standard of work being produced by chefs generally in Northern Ireland was “very good and getting higher all the time”:

“The quality of the ingredients we are being supplied with and the food that’s being produced everywhere is higher than it’s ever been,” he says. “I think that’s being driven by things like cookery shows on television, which encourage people who don’t normally cook to develop an interest in food. They understand more about it and when they come to in to us, they’re willing to try other things.”

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James showed a little of his own culinary flair during the IFEX event. To clinch the title, he wowed the judges with a very creative amuse-bouche, combining a crispy hen’s yolk and parsnip puree, followed by a starter dish of cod with coco beans, broccoli puree, burnt onion and broccoli tempura.

For the main course, James served up cannon of lamb with celeriac puree, potato and celeriac terrine in a red wine jus. And to finish off an incredible menu, for dessert he gave them a white chocolate, lemon and basil mousse with olive caramel, raspberry sorbet and black pepper and sesame tuile.

As for Weaver’s Lodge, James says that the focus now is on driving the event catering side of the business, particularly in the wedding market. The venue includes a function room that currently accommodates up to 100 people, although there are proposals to extend that capacity going forward depending on the level of trade:

“Two or three years from now, I would like to think that the business will be bigger and stronger, that we will have extended the premises and perhaps, added accommodation of some sort,” he added. “We also have plans to add a bar to the offering at some point.”

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On the menu…

 

Starter:

Stuffed breaded mushrooms, sun-blushed tomato and basil cream cheese with  garlic mayonnaise.

Crispy Asian duck salad, curried cashew nuts, mango and ginger dressing.

Shoestring potato-wrapped tiger prawns, Asian slaw, ginger and lemon with rapeseed oil.

 

 

Main:

Chicken chorizo papardelle, smoked paprika tomato sauce, parmesan, roasted peppers, garlic bread

Crispy Belfast Ale-battered fish, minted mushy peas, hand-cut chips, lemon tartare sauce

Roast breast of chicken, braised leeks, gratin potato, wild mushroom veloutte.

 

 

Dessert:

White chocolate and raspberry pavlova with exotic fruit, clotted cream, tuile

Blood orange and ginger crème brûlée, Biscotti, orange fluid gel

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