Ribchester chef: TV debut was just for starters (From Chorley Citizen)

Ribchester chef: TV debut was just for starters

1:30pm Thursday 2nd September 2010 in

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A BUDDING chef has made his television debut on the teatime show Britain’s Best Dish.

Inspired to create a burger after eating a ‘bland’ and ‘boring’ one at a fast food restaurant, Daniel Caldwell, 17, hoped to take his culinary invention to a national level and have it hailed as the best main course dish in Britain.

The Ribchester teenager created a Thai burger using corn-fed chicken combined with jalapeños, lemon grass and tarragon, placed in a homemade bun.

He also created chunky chips cooked in dripping, along with an apple and tomato chutney, and jalapeño mayonnaise.

Daniel appeared on the ITV1 show on Tuesday where he made the Thai burger from scratch and competed against 30-year-old Gary Heath who created his take on paella.

The show’s judges John Burton Race, Ed Baines and Jilly Goolden praised Daniel’s bread making skills and said he was making an intricate meal.

But Blackburn College student Daniel lost out to the paella dish.

He said: “I was over the moon to appear on the show and it was great that all my hard work preparing paid off.

“I was quite nervous on the day we filmed the show but once I started to concentrate on the dish I forgot about it.

“Obviously I’m disappointed that I didn’t get through but I plan to take their comments on board and apply again next year.

“I’m coming back to college in September to study Level two but I’m also planning on entering Junior Master Chef.”

Daniel added: “I’ve always been interested in cooking, and I want to be the first chef in my family.

“Appearing on TV could be great exposure and lead to my dream job.”

As a result of his appearance on the show, Daniel has also secured a work placement in the kitchens of a renowned Devonshire hotel, The Combe House.

And he has had his burger, the Caldwell burger, placed on the college’s lunch menu at Scholars.

Daniel’s tutor Iain Steele said: “We’re very proud of him.

"The Thai burger is a fantastic example of how a student’s creativity, mixed with the skills we give them in catering, can result in cuisine masterpieces.”