Trim chef dishes up a win at All-Ireland Chef of the Year competition

Trim chef Eoin Forrestal scooped top honours at the 2010 All-Ireland Chef of the Year Competition at the recent Sodexo Salon Culinaire, the annual staff culinary competition organised by his employer, Sodexo Ireland. Fellow Meath chef Paul Duffy from Kells scooped a bronze medal in the same competition and chef Gordon O'Connor from Ashbourne was presented with a Certificate of Merit for his entry in the LA Signature Dish class. Mr Duffy is based at SAP in Citywest while Mr O'Connor is based at Wincanton Logistics in Blanchardstown. Mr Forrestal will now represent Ireland at the Sodexo UK and Ireland Chef of the Year Final at the Hospitality 2011 show in the NEC Birmingham next February where he will be competing in front of a top international judging team. He will be facing chefs from all over the UK and, to assist him in his preparations, Mr Forrestal will undertake a work placement at the Michelin-starred L'Ecrivain restaurant in Dublin, owned by well-known TV chef Derry Clarke. Mr Forrestal said: “I was delighted with my result as internal competitions are just as tough as external ones, if not tougher. “The judging panel is made up of very experienced competition chefs from inside and outside the company. Everything from taste to overall presentation is closely scrutinised and it pushes you to perform well in front of your own colleagues.â€