Stefan Wesley, chef de partie at The Moorings, is one of five finalists through to the final stages of the competition, with a chance of winning £5,000 in cash, PR support and the opportunity to co-host an exclusive supper club with Great British Menu winner, James Cochran, at the co-working Mission Kitchen in Covent Garden on next month.
Mr Wesley will join the four other finalists where they will take part in a live two-round cook-off at Cord restaurant by Le Cordon Bleu in London next week.
‘I’m incredibly proud to have made the final and to be representing Alderney. It’s a chance to showcase my cooking on a national stage, learn from some brilliant people in the industry and hopefully shine a light on the island and the food we have here. I can’t wait to see how far I can push the dish before the cook-off,’ he said.
A former British Army serviceman, who also has experience across restaurants, private dining and events in the UK and internationally, Mr Wesley is also an ambassador for The Burnt Chef Project, which raises awareness of mental health issues in the hospitality sector, and is passionate about the issue.
His cooking is influenced by British and Mediterranean flavours, with a particular passion for seafood, seasonality and reducing food waste.
Mr Wesley’s competition dish, Changing Tides, takes its inspiration directly from the sea around Alderney and conversations with local fisherman about how conditions have changed this year.
‘Living and working on Alderney, you’re surrounded by the sea, and you quickly realise it dictates the rhythm of island life and just how dependent the island is on it, so I wanted my dish to tell a bit of a story,’ he said.
A significant influx of octopus has had an impact on lobster and crab fishing around the islands, changing what fishermen are finding in their pots. Mr Wesley has used that story as the basis for a dish bringing together lobster and octopus, with octopus representing the changing waters and lobster as the more traditional catch.
As well as this, reducing waste is also central to the dish as he uses every part of lobster, with the butter-poached tail forming the centrepiece, the claws used in a croquette and the shell roasted to create a lobster consomme.
Heinz Firecracker Sauce is also used to marinate the octopus before it is grilled, bringing heat, sweetness and caramelisation.
Mr Wesley then combines the sauce with Heinz Seriously Good Mayonnaise to create a spicy Mary Rose for the lobster croquette.
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