Two Galwegians were among the prize winners at the annual staff culinary competition organised by food and facilities management providers, Sodexo.
Linda Lambert from Fr Griffin Road in Galway was once again on the winners’ rostrum this year as she scooped a silver medal for her entry entitled ‘The Madness of the Tea Party’ in the Decorative Novelty Cake class at Salon Culinaire 2011. Lambert is business manager for Sodexo at Avaya and last year her entry won the gold.
Aileen Mangan from Oranmore, who is chef manager at SAP Galway, received a Certificate of Merit for her ‘Big Fat Gypsy Wedding Cake’ entry in the same class.
Sodexo catering staff at Creganna Tactx took home three gold medals, the most number won by any one unit, while SAP and Medtronic also did well with each unit bagging a silver and bronze medal.
Linda Lambert has her grandmother to thank for her baking skills.
“My grandmother Mary Quigley was a trained confectioner in Wexford and was famous for her baking, and she was very impressed with my ‘Nightmare Jack’ entry last year. She has since passed away so I am proud to have inherited some of her skills. Every year the Salon Culinaire gives me a chance to exercise my creative skills and that’s what I enjoy about it.”
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Shane McEntee, was the special guest at the Salon, where it was also announced that the company had spent €17 million on locally sourced Irish produce in the year.
Minister McEntee said: “I was very pleased and delighted to learn how much of Sodexo Ireland’s annual multi-million food budget is spent on local produce and that the company is committed to sourcing all their meat products from suppliers accredited by Bord Bia’s Quality Assurance Scheme. This is a time of great potential for our food sector which is highlighted in the Food Harvest 2020 report, and in my six months as Minister of State I can see how enthusiastic and positive people in this industry are.”
