Annual lab culinary competition

October 3, 2016



Early October heralds the longest-standing tradition of my workplace - a culinary competition coinciding with the birthday of a beloved colleague. We had more entries and eaters this year than we've seen for a while! I've collated as many dishes as I can in the slideshow above. In the inclusive spirit of the event, it's the one time I allow photos of meat on the blog. 

That said, this might have been the most veg-friendly year yet. Lovely dips, fritters and finger foods... the black bean chipotle burgers were a highlight for me. There were not as many salads as usual, though I did my bit by submitting Ottolenghi's cauliflower, grape & cheddar salad. Sweets were variously fruity, fancy and far from traditional (check out the dumplings!). My own deviation from the norm was a ketchup cake, and it earned me a prize in the 'tastes better than it sounds' category.

The grand prize winner was a new entrant, who made some lovely olive bread sticks. The judges praised the dish for its classic style, superlative flavour and hipster-rustic presentation.

_____________

You can also check out competition entries from years 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.

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