TWO West Devon chefs are currently putting the final touches to some delicious dishes they hope will land them top titles in a prestigious regional competition. Marc Slater of Prince Hall, near Princetown, is one of the four finalists in the professional class of the South West Chef of the Year competition. And young Chris Penn, of The Harris Arms at Portgate, near Lewdown, is competing for the young chef of the year title. On March 24 the chefs will have to prepare two dishes of their own devising for such industry luminaries as 2 Michelin starred Michael Caines of Gidleigh Park, masterchef Peter Gorton of The Horn of Plenty, Richard Guest of the famous Castle Hotel at Taunton and the popular TV chefs Chris and James Tanner. Marc Slater, aged 30, has been at Prince Hall since February 2006 and serves up an impressive CV — among his distinctions is a bronze award at the British Junior Culinary Olympics in Berlin in 1996; a finalist at the Salon Culinaire in Birmingham and a certificate of merit at the Festival of Food and Wine, Bournemouth in 1997 and again a a finalist at the Salon Culinaire in Birmingham in 2001. Marc, a Cornishman from St Austell, started as apprentice at the Carlyon Bay Hotel before rising through the culinary ranks at top home counties hotels. He also trained under celebrity chef Michel Roux. The heat of the competition will not daunt Marc, who competed in front of more than 2,000 people when he took part in an international competition in Berlin. Marc, who said he was delighted to be selected, said: 'I like awards but my prime target is to satisfy the palate of our guests. 'I prefer to concentrate on the naturalness of the food I serve and not merely to artificially enhance its flavour.' The chef is much in demand for his fish and chips at the hotel — anchovy fritters with mini chips, topped off with fish tartare sauce. Local produce is a must for Marc and Prince Hall. Beef comes from Newton Abbot, poultry from Crediton, the pork from a Chagford farm and all the fish comes from Plymouth day boats, while fruit and vegetables come through local suppliers. Marc's recognition follows further success for Prince Hall, which last year won the bronze award in the Taste of the West Food and Drink Awards to go with its AA rosette for culinary excellence. Anne, who owns Prince Hall with her husband John, praised her head chef's gourmet talents: 'We work well with Marc and enjoy bouncing ideas off each other. 'Because it's a small hotel he has a feeling for the individual culinary demands of the guests. He is not one of these 'prima donna' chefs who only gives guests the food he wants to serve up to them. 'Marc's contribution since joining us last February has been tremendous and we wish him and the other finalists the best of luck. We are with Marc to the last mouthful!' And what a mouthful! For starters Marc will be preparing roast Crediton pigeon, with a white grape and walnut jus along with crispy, Denham dried ham. For the main dish he is tempting the judges with seared Westcountry monkfish fillet, River Yealm mussels and tarragon scented tagliatelle. Beetroot is one of the secret weapons in the armoury of young Chris Penn. Chris, 19, is commis chef at The Harris Arms. A former Launceston College student, Chris has been at The Harris Arms for nine months. Previously he worked under talented chef Jason Hornbuckle at Lewtrenchard Manor. He said he was 'over the moon' to have won a place in the final of the prestigious competition. 'I was so shocked, I had to read the letter about four times before it sank in,' he said. 'I was so excited — I was meant to be going out for the day but that went completely out of the window!' Chris will cook a starter and main course under the eagle eye of the expert panel, in addition to presenting the meal to the highest possible standards. The ingredients must be sourced from the South West — without giving too much away, Chris's dishes will include lamb and squid and that special ingredient — beetroot. 'I'm getting it from my grandad's garden — it's really lovely!' said Chris. He said timing the cooking to make sure the meal was perfect would be the biggest challenge. 'I've got one-and-a-half hours to do it — I've done it in an hour and a quarter and that was with the presentation, so it should be OK,' said Chris. 'I've just got to keep my head down and concentrate. You just have to keep the pressure in and work hard,' he said. If Chris wins the competition, he will demonstrate one of his dishes at the Exeter Food Festival — and also gets a week's work experience in the judges' kitchens. 'Michael Caines has always been an idol of mine and to work with him would just be amazing,' he said. 'I'm so excited about this — it's a big achievement for me and just to get picked for the last four from five counties, it feels as if I have already won. 'I've had a huge amount of support from Tim, the chef here, and Andy and Rowena — I don't think there are many places that would have been so supportive or helped me so much,' he said. Owners of The Harris Arms, Andy and Rowena Whiteman, are justly proud of their young employee. Andy said: 'We are really delighted for him. It's a fantastic achievement. In the time he's been with us he's worked really hard and the recipes he's come up with have shown so much imagination, we are so pleased for him. 'He's a key member of our team and we think he has a great future.'
