• Double Delight for the Milton - Grampian Chef of the Year 2007

Grampian's top chef of the year was named as David Littlewood of the Milton Restaurant, Crathes. The awards ceremony was held at Mercure Ardoe House Hotel, Aberdeen, where around 250 guests gathered to see David presented with the title of Grampian Chef of the Year 2007. David won through after a tough fought kitchen cook off, held at Aberdeen College.

There was double success for the Milton, when Andrew Fleming was named winner of the Young chef category.

Craig Watt of ESS Culinary Team, Aberdeen won Contract Chef of the Year, and Jeff Purves of Banchory Lodge was awarded Seafood Chef of the Year.

David's winning menu consisted of smoked organic Shetland cod on soft polenta with poached duck's egg and horseradish cream; seared fillet of veal with crisp sweetbreads, ragout of morel mushrooms and creamed savoy cabbage; and rhubarb custard tart with strawberry granite and ginger syrup.

Grampian Chef of the Year is one of Scotland's top chef awards, and in addition to the title David also received a trophy, £300 prize money, and a voucher for Aberdeen's only 5 star hotel, the Marcliffe Hotel and Spa.

Karen Black, General Manager of Hospitality Training, and competition organiser, said: "There is a wealth of talent in Grampian, Chefs work in very pressurised and demanding environments. The competition gives them the opportunity to bring to the public domain the wonderful skills that exist in Grampian, and their commitment to using quality produce. The competition had a record number of entries this year, and has been eagerly awaited by chefs across the region. The finalists did extremely well to get to the cook off, the dishes were very well executed, and it proved very difficult for the judges to reach their decision. We saw some outstanding menus and the very best of local ingredients.

The 31 finalists were required to use local produce in season in their menus, which were judged on a number of factors including working methods, skill, hygiene, and balance of flavour at the final held at Aberdeen College.

The judges were provided by the Federation of Chefs Scotland, and are well known throughout the industry. The judges were; Joe Queen, President of the Federation of Chefs Scotland; George McIvor, Chairman of Masterchefs of Great Britain; Kevin MacGillivray, Director of EatScotland; and Ian MacDonald, head chef, Balbirnie House Hotel.

Elizabeth Mathie, co-ordinator of the Grampian Food Forum, said: "Grampian is blessed with an array of high quality produce and extremely talented chefs. The Grampian Food Forum is delighted to see that the finalists have produced dishes of an outstanding quality using the very best local ingredients."

The guest speaker at the dinner was Kevin MacGillivray who congratulated the winners on their success. The high standard of dishes produced, was great news for tourism in Grampian and the standard that visitors to the area should expect from local hotels and restaurants. Kevin explained the importance of the link between tourism and food, and his role as the Director of EatScotland. EatScotland is nationwide quality assurance scheme from VisitScotland. Businesses are assessed against strict criteria to ensure that customers can have confidence in the food served and the experience they will have.

Joe Queen, Chairman of the judging panel presented the awards and was delighted to see the standards had improved once again, he said "I am delighted to see that the competitors have stepped up to the challenge, and have produced some very exciting dishes today. I was especially impressed by the young chefs, and I feel very positive about the future for chefs in this area. There is a great deal of talent here".

The competition is organised by Hospitality Training and is supported by the Grampian Food Forum and the Federation of Chefs Scotland to promote the wealth of culinary talent in Grampian. The finalists were set the challenge of using local produce to create an exciting and innovative three course meal.

Grampian Chef of the Year is also sponsored by Aberdeen College, Craig Group Catering Services, ESS, Delice de France, Ken Watmough Fishmonger, Knowles Food Services, Mackie's of Scotland Ltd, Macphie of Glenbervie Ltd, Marcliffe Hotel & Spa, Press & Journal, Braehead Foods, Turriffs of Montrose, the Ice Cream Cabin, Aberdeen Scotch Meat Ltd, The Falls of Feugh, Davidsons Specialist Butchers, North Atlantic Sea Farms, Instant Catering Maintenance, Aberdeenshire Larder,Jack Cooper, Mitchells Dairy, and Steelite.