Last night I was at the Shireburn Arms Hotel, Hurst Green for the latest Lancashire Hot Shots event.
Hot Shots evenings are all about raising the profile of chefing as a career and giving up and coming chefs the chance to show their skills by devising the menu and taking over and running the kitchen for the night – not for the faint hearted!
It was the turn of 21 year old chef Robbie Walls, to step up to the plate (sorry couldn’t resist!) and show everyone what they are made of. I’d looked at his menu at least half a dozen times and couldn’t make a choice until the very last minute due to the mouth watering array of gastronomy on offer.
With Steve Alcock, the proprietor of the Shireburn Arms, hovering over me for an answer I plumped for the Chilled Three Tomato Gazpacho, the Slow Roast Goosnargh Duck and Apple and Vanilla Mille Feuille. Now the first two courses were good , they were very good but the dessert course, well it was something else! Desserts are not usually my thing. I don’t particularly like chocolate, hate coffee and think meringue isn’t worth bothering with (cheese and biscuits – now you’re talking) - but this dessert, which was accompanied by a Bramley apple sorbet, was just out of this world!
Robbie, if this last dish is anything to go by, your culinary talents are at the same level as your namesake singer – super star! Good job.
Steve Partington
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