London's best Chinese chefs battled it out in a closely fought culinary cook off in the heart of the capital this week.

More than 400 spectators attended Westminster Council's annual Masterchef competition at the Westminster Kingsway Catering College in Victoria on Tuesday.

Tuax Bao Truong from the Royal China Club in Baker Street scooped first prize to be crowned Chinese Masterschef 2007. It was the second time in two years that Mr Truong won the title.

TV cookery star Nancy Lam and Michelin-star chef Paul Merrett were part of the judging panel. Nancy said: "I'm a big fan of Westminster Council's Chinese Masterchef competition. The standard of cooking is always very high and it helps promote Chinese food and culture. It's a great day out."

The winning chef was judged on an abalone starter, a duck dish, a lobster dish, a rice dish and a vegetable dish. After scooping the £1,000 prize first prize and winner's trophy, Mr Troung said: "I am very happy to have won this competition".

Second prize of £500 went to Cheuk Wan Chow from China Tang at the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane. De De Ly from the Mandarin Kitchen in Queensway won the third prize of £250.

The competition, the only one of its kind in the UK, is designed to showcase Westminster, home of Chinatown, as the country's number one destination for oriental food.

To qualify for the competition, restaurants throughout Westminster nominated a chef, and environmental health officers visited each premises to carry out a food hygiene inspection.

Entries had just 90 minutes to cook their dishes and were marked on their skill, creativity, originality and standards of food hygiene.

The competition also included the new category of specialist Dim Sum chef and student chef.

Pei Fen Tong from China Tang from the Dorchester Hotel was crowned the best dim sum chef while David Hutchinson from Westminster Kingsway Catering College and Samir Almesseh from The School of Asian and Oriental Studies were joint winners in the student competition.

Other popular attractions at the competition, which was attended by international TV and media, included a sugar flower sculpting demonstration, a noodle pulling demonstration and traditional Chinese lion dancing.

Councillor Audrey Lewis, Cabinet Member for Community Protection which includes Westminster's food team, said: "Chinese Masterchef is an extremely popular event that attracts top class chefs who are all keen to show off their culinary skills.

"It recognises the immensely important contribution that Chinese cuisine makes to Westminster while encouraging good food hygiene skills in the kitchen."

Westminster Council gives Chinese restaurant staff hygiene lessons in Cantonese and Mandarin to help them understand food regulations. Packs have been distributed in the languages explaining UK hygiene laws and what needs to be done to make sure they are not breached.

There are more than 5,400 restaurants in Westminster, of which about 125 are Chinese.

Oliver Finegold
Media Officer
Communications Department
Westminster City Council
17th Floor
Westminster City Hall
64 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6QP
Phone: 0207 641 2423
Fax: 0207 641 2958
www.westminster.gov.uk