The King and Thai win Curry Chef of the Year 2014

Amongst stiff competition, Daniel Power of the King and Thai in Broseley was awarded the esteemed title of Shropshire Council’s Curry Chef of the Year 2014 after a tense final ‘cook-off’ on Monday 9 June.

This was Daniel’s first attempt at the competition and he graciously accepted his award saying:

“Considering the competition’s been running for four or five years now – and the competition have been there –this is the first time I’ve been put forward to it. It’s really good! We do a great job at the King and Thai and Suree is a great teacher, she’s taught me an awful lot over the last 18 months.”

The other three finalists that stepped up to the plate were the Massala in Craven Arms, Third Place and Panacea, both in Shrewsbury.

The chefs produced two curry dishes and a vegetable dish for a panel of judges at the brand new Origins restaurant at Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology (SCAT), where they had one hour to cook and display their chosen menu. Their work was then tasted and assessed by the judges and after much deliberation, the trophy was awarded by Dr Paul McGreary, head of Public Protection, to Chef Daniel Power.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for public protection and competition judge, said:

“Well first off, very well done to The King and Thai and Daniel Power for winning the competition. It’s a great testament to the other three finalists how hard this decision was – the standards these chefs are setting is astounding. Everyone can be really proud of their achievements.

“An extra element to the judging was added this year looking at innovation. This focused on creating something new and original which we hadn’t seen before. Everyone definitely rose to the challenge with a variety of unique dishes which we had the pleasure of judging.”

After 17 years of cooking, but only 18 months of Thai food under the tutorage of Chef Patron Suree Coates, Daniel Power was able to produce the winning menu of vegetable green curry with tofu and cashew nuts, alongside Chicken panang with crispy shallots and chilli. His teacher, Chef Suree Coates, commented on his attitude after his win:

“He is good, he’s willing to learn, to improve. He works hard all the time as well. This was up to him, he’s done well.”

Speaking after receiving the award, Daniel gave some final advice to anyone looking to become a chef:

“Keep your head down – sometimes it’s a hard struggle but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Cook with your heart and passion and the rewards come at the end. Me, I was quite happy trundling along, cooking dishes. But then I got entered into the competition and look what happened! Smile on my face – it’s just tremendous.”

“Follow your dream.” Suree added. “And work hard at it, whatever it is you want to do – follow your dream.”

Further information

To help promote food and kitchen hygiene across the Shropshire Council area, all Indian, Bangladeshi, Balti, Thai and similar restaurants and takeaways with a food hygiene rating of three (satisfactory) or above were invited to enter the competition. The successful applicants were visited by the health protection and prevention team to ensure that good food safety practices are being met, and to taste and consider the nutritional value of the chef’s chosen dishes.

The competition judges were:

• Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council Cabinet member responsible for Public Protection
• Paola Alessandri-Gray, Prevention Health Project Manager, Public Health
• Sean McNulty, Senior Chef Lecturer at Shrewsbury College of Arts