Dustin's dish a taste of success

EVERYONE walked away a winner at the first Show Us Ya Dish cooking showdown between the amateurs and a professional at the Coffs Coast Growers Market yesterday.

Dishing it up: Saltwater’s Dustin Bowie-Ford preparing his wok-smoking system as amateurs and pros cook off yesterday. . Picture: Bruce Thomas

EVERYONE walked away a winner at the first Show Us Ya Dish cooking showdown between the amateurs and a professional at the Coffs Coast Growers Market yesterday.

The winner, not unexpectedly, was young professional chef Dustin Bowie-Ford from Saltwater Restaurant, who carried off the first prize of a set of Scanpan saucepans for his dish, pan-seared swordfish fillet with chardonnay-smoked vine tomatoes, a confit of kipfler potatoes and lemon-scented foam.

He also won the opportunity to have his winning recipe published in the upcoming Coffs Coast Harvest Guide.

Dustin donated the knife set he also won to talented amateur cook Keith Street, who had a self-confessed ‘pasta disaster’ and had to change the plans for his dish at the last minute.

The bachelor who likes to experiment in the kitchen because ‘meat and three veg gets a bit boring,’ turned his planned zesty prawn fettuccine into zesty prawns with sourdough bread when his pasta failed to ‘fire’.

Working mother Ellen Brennan, who says she does the gourmet cooking for her family on weekends, also won a knife set for coming second with her fresh and crunchy dish of marinated prawns on a banana flower salad.

Judges Tony Gill, head chef at Pacific Bay Resort, Florencia Cavallo from ABC Radio Mid North Coast and Margo Johnston from North Coast Area Health Service got to sample all the dishes and the crowd had a happy time sniffing all the delectable aromas and listening to MC Phil Dudman, who turned the occasion into a celebration of local fresh food as he interviewed stallholders, cooks, chefs and passers-by.

Originally published as Dustin's dish a taste of success