Bean jar has a new championship and a new champion.
The island’s classic slow-cooked casserole, historically prepared as a cheap, hearty winter meal, was put to the taste test this weekend.
Organiser Demelza Newsom came up with the idea as a fundraiser for Sylvans Sports Club.
Bean Jars could be entered in three categories – ‘Just like Grandma made’, ‘twisted’ and vegetarian.
‘We deliberately didn’t call the main category “traditional”as the ingredients can be hard to exactly pin down and they vary so much,’ Mrs Newsom said.
‘And as we’ve seen the standard bean jars are all really different. Some have got both beef and pork, and some haricot or butter beans, or both. Some controversially even have carrots in.’
The twisted category saw a mystery ingredient included, with competitors experimenting with spices and even John Smith’s bitter.
The bean jars were then put to a public vote and were scored from one – ‘not quite there’ – to an ‘award-winning’ five, and more than 100 Sylvans regulars tasted, deliberated and voted to choose the winners.
‘It’s the first time we have done it and I now think it will be an annual event,’ said Mrs Newsom.
‘I thought it would be just five regulars around a table, but we have people here from the West Show here and they said we have had more entries than they do.’
Winners were presented with specially-made chopping board trophies with space to add the winner’s name each year, and their own wooden spoon to take home.
The winning dish in the ‘Just like Grandma made’ category was a partnership between Kim Carre and Richard Gallienne, who also placed second in the twisted category.
‘Ours is ham hock and beef shin – that’s a bit controversial as well, because some people will only use one or the other – haricot and butter beans, celery, a bouquet of herbs and then just water, and of course no carrots,’ said Mrs Carre.
‘I don’t have the recipe written down, it’s just the one I saw my mother making and I’ve made for years at home.’
However, they used a real Guernsey favourite as their mystery ingredient.
‘I’ve just been ormering and 17 of them went into that jar,’ she said. ‘People seemed to like it.’
There was however only one entry in the vegetarian section.
‘That was won by me,’ said Mrs Newsom.
‘I’m vegetarian and there are a few at the club so I thought we should include the category, but everyone else seems to be on holiday.’