The Turner Prize

DO YOU have a passion for food? How much do you know about it? Enough to select a winner from some of Guernsey's best restaurants?

Click here to enter the competition. We're giving readers the opportunity to do just that during this year's Good Food Group Guernsey Restaurant Awards 2005 competition in April.

It's the month all food-lovers eagerly await - the chance to experience the finest cooking from island chefs. And this year you could have a very real influence on the competition result as well as enjoying some fantastic meals - and learning even more about the food you're likely to eat.

We're looking for people who have enough of an interest in food to become this year's competition judges. The reward? The chance to work closely with celebrity chef Brian Turner and to eat at participating restaurants this April.

It's a brand new way of judging the awards and Paul Luxon, chairman of the Good Food Group, thinks it's a winner.

'The idea was arrived at after consultation with the restaurant industry and we think the combination of the tried and tested format coupled with interaction from diners will work well.'

'The competition is a tried and tested format but this is something completely new,' said Ged Kelly of organisers Hamilton Brooke.

'This is its 10th year and we know it is something islanders really enjoy. In the past we've had some excellent visiting judges from the UK - Phil Vickery, Tony Tobin, Ross Burden, James Martin - all familiar faces on TV and at the top of their profession. And we've welcomed top chefs from some of the best-known places in the UK including Gleneagles, Claridges and even the House of Commons.

'They've loved coming to Guernsey and have always been impressed by the standard of cooking here - and the way it seems to rise every year.'Equally popular was the concept of the diners' vote, in which members of the public decided on the winner.

'But that proved difficult to monitor,' explained Ged. 'And given all those successful elements, we decided to give new life to the recipe. Just like any good chef, we had a look at the ingredients and decided on a re-make of an old classic.'

This year's competition will feature all the egalitarianism of the diners' vote combined with solid professional back-up. A panel of judges selected from those who submit today's questionnaire will eat their way around the island, armed with plenty of advice from Brian Turner.

They'll start with a judges' briefing on 4 March at Guernsey College, where catering students under the tutelage of department head Steve Bacon will prepare a selection of food.

Brian will be there to talk the prospective judges through each dish, focusing on method, taste, presentation and inventiveness as well as coaching them on the rudiments of their April task.

And that also provides valuable experience for the students who'll be cooking the dishes, said Steve.

'A lot of youngsters aspire to be celebrities, and to have the opportunity to speak with Brian and learn from him will be beneficial,' he explained. 'And the experience of preparing a dish and then having it constructively criticised by an expert might have some meaning to them. It's a good opportunity for them.'

In April, judges will visit participating restaurants anonymously and make their assessment. Each judging visit will allow food and drinks for two up to the value of £100.

And the chance to do that is open to everyone. You could be single or a couple, young or old - the main ingredient we're looking for here is a passion for food and eating out, coupled with enough knowledge to make a fair judgement as to who's cooking the best food in Guernsey. You must be available on 4 March for the judges' briefing and in April for the restaurant visits.

'The new judging format combines the best of both worlds and seemed such an obvious choice,' said Ged. 'And here, in these pages, is where our search starts.'