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23rd May 2011

Craft Guild's London Division announces winners of the Winnie Myers Traditional Afternoon Tea Challenge

Written by: Admin
At the inaugural Winnie Myers Traditional Afternoon Tea challenge organised by the London Division of the Craft Guild, Amy Garner from Bedford College was crowned senior winner and Telpal Singh from the London Marriott County Hall Hotel the junior winner. Both received the top prize of afternoon tea for two at The Ritz.
Westminster Kingsway College (WKC) students Eran Shina and John James-Meneses came second and third respectively, while in the junior contest the runner up was Rhys Kensell-Saer from the Crown Moran Hotel in London. Second prize was a Red Letter Day voucher, and all five chefs will get the chance of a work placement at the House of Commons with executive chef Mark Hill. The competition, sponsored by Gram, M&S Café, Twinings and Premier Foodservice, was named after Winnie Myers, one of the veterans of the Craft Guild's London Division, and aimed to seek out the best teatime spread. At the cook off at WKC, the young chefs had to produce three traditional finger sandwiches – cucumber, smoked salmon, egg and cress, plus a finger sandwich of their own choice; a sweet and a savoury pastry; a sweet and a savoury scone; and two tea cakes – fruit and plain. The event was honoured to have Winnie Myers attend in person, making a special trip from the Lake District where she retired nearly three years ago after dedicating more than 70 years to her craft. In that time she cooked for royalty at some of the country's leading establishments, including the House of Lords where she was head chef.