The heat is on for super chef Justin (From Basingstoke Gazette)

The heat is on for super chef Justin

1:00pm Friday 7th January 2011 in News By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter

A TALENTED chef is competing to be crowned the best pub chef of the year.

Justin Brown has made it through to the final and now faces a cook-off in the kitchen to impress a panel of judges in The Great British Pub Food Awards. The 28-year-old, who is the head chef at The Sun Inn in Dummer, was declared the best pie chef last year when he worked at The Carn-arvon Arms in Highclere.

Having taken over the running of the kitchen at The Sun Inn, Mr Brown is now hoping his dishes at the newly-refurbished pub will be enough to claim another title in 2011.

Since the pub was taken over and reopened last year, Mr Brown has created a menu of British classics with a modern twist – and after just 14 weeks, the pub was awarded an AA Rosette for its food.

Mr Brown said it was a huge achievement, and added: “On a Friday and Saturday, we are fully booked for up to two weeks in advance.

“I assume a lot of people from Basingstoke come here. It’s a pub but it’s modern British cuisine. It’s 100 per cent British. We have been awarded our first AA Rosette, which is a great achievement after only just opening.”

The Great British Pub Food Awards, run by the Morning Advertiser trade newspaper, saw a judging panel of exp-erts select a shortlist of fin-alists, who will battle it out this month in various categories. Finalists have to provide their own ingredients and prepare their entered dish, and will then be challenged to create a dish from a mystery box of ingredients.