Cobh lady wins Certificate of Merit at prestigious culinary competition

Regina Flavin (Sodexo) - Photo by Fergus McNally

Regina Flavin from Cobh was awarded a Certificate of Merit for her first-time entry at the Sodexo Ireland Salon Culinaire 2010, the annual staff culinary competition organized by the food and facilities management provider which employs over 2,000 people based in 200 client locations around the country.  Regina is based at Pfizer Pharma in Ringaskiddy.

Heated but friendly competition flavoured the event as both chefs and non-chef entrants battled to scoop a top spot in their individual classes. These included signature breakfasts, gourmet four course dinners and modern vegetarian dishes as well as dessert tarts, novelty cakes, boxed salads and making the perfect cappuccino.  There was also a Mystery Basket Class where contestants had to devise a two- course meal on the spot from a box of ingredients handed to them.

Regina said,  “I was happy with my result as internal competitions are just as tough as external ones, if not more so.  The judging panel is made up of very experienced competition chefs from inside and outside the company. Everything from taste to overall presentation is closely scrutinized and it pushes you to give your best.”

Top restaurant owner and television chef Derry Clarke of L’Ecrivain restaurant in Dublin has a partnering agreement with the company and is closely involved in ongoing chef training and craft development.  Derry said, “Aside from my ongoing work with Sodexo, this is also my second year to be a guest judge at the Salon Culinaire. Again, I was extremely impressed by the quality and standard of the entries as it showed that having a passion for food wasn’t just confined to the chefs!”

Derry Clarke joined the rest of the judging team which included Michael Egan, chairman of the Panel of Chefs and Derek Reilly, executive chef for Sodexo Ireland and the winner of the Contract Catering Chef of the Year Award at the recent 2010 UK Craft Guild Awards in London.

Jeremy Dicks, managing director of Sodexo Ireland, said “I think it’s safe to say that we are passionate about food and place a huge importance on the use of local, seasonal, fresh ingredients where possible. This passion is reflected in the superb standard of entries at this year’s Salon Culinaire. I am delighted that the company itself has won awards in every external competition we’ve entered this year, whether it was for food, the standard of the staff restaurants we operate or our commitment to workplace, hygiene, health and safety. This is something of which staff based all over Ireland can be very proud”