“I’m very excited to be chosen for the regional cook offs,” said Annika. “Vegetarian diets have some great health benefits that people sometimes overlook. So to be chosen with a vegetarian menu is a great honour, especially when the dishes I’ve chosen are based on things I eat myself day to day.”Annika’s winning menu consisted of goat’s cheese, balsamic red onion puffs, honey roasted sweet potatoes and a superfood salad. “Goat’s cheese is such a great product to work with. Along with my salad – which contains watercress, pomegranate and sesame seeds – it’s a dish that’s low in cholesterol, fairly high in protein and fibre and is packed with loads of nutritional content including numerous vitamins, iron and potassium,” said Annika. Her dessert was also vegetarian-friendly. “I wanted to show some of the things you could do with tofu, so I chose a mango, coconut and tofu dessert. Tofu is so versatile but I think many people don’t quite know what to do with it. That’s a shame since it has so many health benefits such as lowering the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and even age-related brain disease.” The Care Cook of the Year competition is a national contest run by the National Association of Care Catering. Regional finalists go on to a national final which – last year – featured three chefs from Sunrise Senior Living, making up a quarter of all the finalists. “No pressure there, then,” joked Annika. “I’m just looking forward to the regional finals next and hoping that I get through that before I even think about the national final.”
Categories:
Articles