Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2015 | Page 117

FOOD

opponents included Sussex winners Jasmine
Cheeseman and Charlotte Cole, from
The Angmering School in Littlehampton,
Hampshire winners Zoe Parsons and Laura
Pauley from Horndean Technology College
and Hampshire runners’ up Ross Reynaldo
and Daniel Maley from The Costello School
in Basingstoke. All the contestants were
awarded a recipe trophy with their recipes
professional styled and photographed for
doing so well in the Competition.
Mark Persad, Head of Marketing at
Wightlink, which supported the competition
on the Isle of Wight with the provision of
ferry travel, said:

“It’s so encouraging to
see young cooks engage
with local food. All the
finalists were so confident
in the kitchen, showing
really good teamwork and
organisation; it’s brilliant!”

“Huge congratulations to both Jess and
Tess for winning the competition.
Wightlink is very proud to be associated
with the fit2cook challenge as it celebrates
local produce and the talents of our
young people, both areas that our own
company champions.” The 2015 Create
& Cook Competition was also supported
by Hampshire Fare, Hampshire Farmers’
Markets, Exclusive Chefs Academy, etch
food, The Little Gloster, Chichester College,
and Basingstoke College of Technology and
Newlyns Cookery School.
To find out more and try the winning
recipes, visit fit2cook.co.uk/recipes

Dan loves Island’s food culture

H

e’s worked as a chef at some of the
most exotic locations you can think of
– but Dan Inniss-Fitzhugh says he couldn’t
be happier to be now working on the Isle of
Wight.
Appointed Head Chef of the George
Hotel at Yarmouth in February, he has
been pleasing the palates of diners with his
fine dining menus at Isla’s restaurant, and
the hotel’s more informal, brasserie-style
Conservatory.
Dan, who previously worked for Sir Richard
Branson at his restaurants in Morocco
and the ski resort of Verbier, as well as at
Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’
Saisons, says he enjoyed being a visitor to
the Isle of Wight for 10 years before finally
coming to work here.
“It was fantastic for me when the
opportunity came up to work here, and I
didn’t have to think twice” he says.
What Dan particularly enjoys is the range
of locally-grown and seasonal produce he
gets to work with – from lobster, beef and
duck, to Isle of Wight garlic, tomatoes and
local vegetables from Apse Heath grower
Will Steward, which he describes as ‘sublime’.

He’s excited by the current surge in ‘food
culture’ on the Island, and sees it as being on
a big upward curve. “There’s definitely lots
more room for expansion, and here at the
George we’re already thinking of adding to
our team of seven chefs”.

Meanwhile, on a personal level, Dan enjoys
the opportunity to spend his time off cycling
the Island’s picturesque cycleways, fishing,
hiking and generally exploring places he
never discovered as a visitor.
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