Galvin brothers give amateur bakers a bite of the apple
On Saturday 16th May Chris and Jeff Galvin hosted another successful Apple Tarte Tatin competition as part of their third annual Festival of Food and Drink. We take a look at the top Tatins of the competition.
Galvin brothers give amateur bakers a bite of the apple
On Saturday 16th May Chris and Jeff Galvin hosted another successful Apple Tarte Tatin competition as part of their third annual Festival of Food and Drink. We take a look at the top Tatins of the competition.
On Saturday 16th May Chris and Jeff Galvin hosted another successful Apple Tarte Tatin competition as part of their third annual Festival of Food and Drink. The festival, a week long event celebrating the chefs’ ‘food heroes’, featured events across their entire restaurant empire, with Baker Street's Bistrot de Luxe acting as host venue for the baking competition.
The competition was open to everyone, with the only stipulation being that the tarts must be apple - why mess with perfection? - and baked by the entrant themselves. To avoid the bakers having to shove their sticky desserts into jiffy bags the initial round of judging was done through pictures only, with entrants asked to share their tarts on Twitter using the hashtag #galvintartetatin.
Hordes of eager bakers took to Twitter, sharing their stickiest, butteriest, most sumptuously caramelised efforts for the brothers to judge. From these entrants a shortlist was drawn up, with thirteen talented bakers invited to Bistrot de Luxe for a blind tasting.
The judging panel was comprised of various eminent foodies, including Great British Chefs’ own Ollie Lloyd, restaurant critic Richard Vines and Galvin at Windows' Fred Sirieix. These lucky judges tasted all the tarte Tatins, possibly several times (it's better to be sure, after all...) before awarding the prizes.
The winner was Jonathan Barton, who won the much coveted Galvin Pomme d'Or trophy along with a clutch of other culinary goodies. His name will be engraved on the Galvins' famous copper tarte Tatin dish which bears the names of all the previous victors and remains on permanent display in Bistrot de Luxe. Honourable mentions - not to mention Champagne and Rosie Birkett cookbooks - were given to the talented bakers in second and third place. Then followed a celebratory lunch for the participants - we assume the judges went easy on the dessert course!
If you would like a slice of the action - or, indeed, a tarte Tatin - have a go at the Galvin brothers' signature recipe. Made with chunky pieces of Braeburn apple and served up with a boozy crème Normande, in dessert terms this tarte Tatin is a winner every time.
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