insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 09 - November 2015 | Page 14

NEWS

CHEF MATT GILLAN AT THE PASS, SOUTH LODGE, HAS WON GREAT
BRITISH MENU AND WILL BE COOKING AT THE WI CENTENARY BANQUET
After receiving straight 10 scores from both the chefs and judges
Matthew Fort, Prue Leith, Oliver Peyton and guest judge Felicity Cloake
- an achievement never seen before in the history of The Great British
Menu – Matt’s faultless main course dish, Teaching and Preaching, was
put straight through to the banquet without a shortlist.
Matt, from his restaurant Matt Gillan at The Pass in South Lodge, an
exclusive hotel near Horsham, West Sussex, fought off stiff competition
to secure his place cooking the main course at a special banquet
celebrating 100 years of the Women’s Institute at Drapers Hall in London.
The judges selected Matt’s dish outright for its first class cooking and
excellent interpretation of the brief; reflective of the resourcefulness of the
WI and their ‘waste not want not’ ethos.
Born in the UK but with St Helena heritage, Matt’s dish is inspired by
his mother who regularly cooked goat at home though its popularity
here in the UK has been in decline. With the soaring popularity of goat’s
cheese and milk from females, the male Billie’s are often slaughtered and
discarded, so Matt was keen to showcase every cut of the animal in his
dish of 12 complex elements including salt baked leg, spiced shoulder
and goat Ragu topped with mash potato, named Herders Pie.
Matt commented, “My dish is very personal to me; it’s more than just
a plate of food—so it’s made my day for the dish to go to the banquet
and to secure a place with ‘ten out of tens’ across the board is an
unbelievable feeling.”

JOIN IN & INTERSPORT LAUNCH COMMUNITY
SPORT SCHEME IN LEWES EAST SUSSEX
Grass roots sports clubs and running groups in and around Lewes will
be the first to benefit from the launch of Intersport’s new community
programme.
Intersport Lewes has been working with charity Join In to launch a
unique, in-store programme that will support local sports groups and help
them to engage with new volunteers and players.
As well as expert advice on sporting kit and equipment, clubs and
shoppers will be able to access Intersport Lewes's local knowledge to
help build their clubs and receive advice on where to get involved with
sport locally.
Intersport Lewes is one of the first stores to receive a new Join In
Community Board, an in-store resource that clubs and visitors can
utilise to engage with the wider community. The community board will
publicise local volunteer opportunities and store staff will work to connect
enthusiastic sports participants with clubs in need- helping to build the
sporting community throughout East Sussex.
As part of the collaboration, Intersport Lewes will be working with Join
In to recruit local on-the-ground ambassadors in the Lewes area to
become Join In Local Leaders. These super volunteers will help support
the Intersport Lewes store and build their community sports network.
They will also become part of a the nationwide network of existing Local
Leaders.

Jonathan the Intersport Lewes Store Manager says, "We are excited to
have been one of the first retailers to work with Join In. There are a lot
of opportunities in Lewes to work with grass roots sport. We have the
community board up and running in our store to attract our customers
and local clubs to volunteering opportunities and events in the area and
hope the great partnership can make a difference."

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