The Cream of Dairy – Dairy Chef 2022 Winners are announced

The third year of Dairy Chef was held at GMIT in Galway on Wednesday 6^th April 2022. The competition is organised by the French Embassy in Ireland, in partnership with NDC (National Dairy Council) and CNIEL (Centre national interprofessionnel de l’économie laitière) and invites culinary students from top colleges in France and Ireland to create a three-course menu celebrating Irish and French dairy products. Each dish created must follow the theme of this year: “Sustainability and innovation in meals of the future”.

The Dairy Chef contest was judged by renowned chefs and food personalities in France and in Ireland, highlighting the thriving food culture and culinary education in both countries. Paula Stakelum, Executive Head Pastry Chef at Ashford Castle and celebrated Irish food writer John McKenna, were joined by Thierry Charrier, chef at the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign affairs, and Vincent Villeroy, chef at the Embassy of Ireland in France.  The jury included two representatives of the Irish institutions: Sheen Duffy, member of the HEA (Higher Education Authority) and Dave Mulvaney, member of City of Dublin Education and Training Board

The winners are:

Strand 1: novice students

Team 1

Manon LUGAN                              Bruno NASCIMENTO 

Lycée Georges Freche                 Cork Education and Training Board 

Strand 2: experienced students

Team 1

Hugo BLONDET                            Christopher BUCKLEY 

Ecole des metiers, Dijon/              TU Dublin – Grangegorman 

To enter the competition, French and Irish Culinary students were asked to submit a menu with photos detailing 3-courses menus celebrating the best of Irish and French dairy products inspired by the theme Sustainability and innovation in meals of the future. The standard this year was incredibly high and 12 finalists were been selected out of 20 candidates. This year, they were split into two different categories depending on their training level.

Food writer and judge John McKenna said “The standard of the entries for the contest as always was very high which made the task of selecting the finalists challenging. I was delighted to see the French and Irish dairy produce used in such an inspiring way, making the most of high-quality ingredients and a variety of dairy ingredients, and using them in creative and dynamic – and delicious – ways that were genuinely original.