Competition

• Vote for your favourite new restaurant of 2024 and win afternoon tea at Harrods

  

  We want to hear your thoughts on eating out in London this year. 

• London restaurants get ready for the MHK Meatball Competition

  

  We've had the Scotch Egg Challenge, the Slider Decider, the Croquetas Challenge and Wing Fest. Now London is about to see a new food competition setting restaurants against each other. The MHK Meatball competition held at Mortimer House Kitchen this month will feature chefs from eight top London restaurants competing with their interpretation of the humble meatball.

  For one night the restaurant's Executive

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• Salt Yard bring home the trophy in the 2023 Croquetas Challenge

  

  Last night saw eight London restaurants battling it out for this year's Croquetas Challenge. It's the sixth year that the competition has been run by the Salt Yard Group and the sixth year we've been judging it, so we couldn't wait to see what this year's finalists brought to our table.

  Held at Salt Yard Borough after two tightly-contested heats here's what the restaurants served up last

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• The Croquetas Challenge returns for 2023

  

  Over the past few years we've enjoyed being part of the judging panel for the annual Croquetas Challenge run by the Salt Yard Group. So we're delighted to be able to reveal that the event is back again for 2023 with some interesting competitors already signed up.

  In the run-up to the final on 6 June, the group will be arranging two heats in May when restaurants from across the city will compete.

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• The Maison Francois Croute-off is back, with some big names taking part

  

  We're very big fans of pate en croute here at Hot Dinners, so news of the return of Maison Francois' Croute Off has cheered us immensely. Just as you'd expect, it has some of London's best restaurants getting together to compete for the best pate en croute of 2022. 

  There's a pretty impressive list of names involved too, many already producing some pretty fine croutes at their own restaurants They

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• Shuk take home the top prize at the 2022 Croquetas Challenge

  

  A sign that the London restaurant scene is fully getting its post-lockdown mojo back again came last night with the return of the annual Croquetas Challenge. Last held in 2019, the event hosted by the Salt Yard Group was back with a bang.

  After several highly competitive heats over the past weeks, seven finalists gathered at

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• London restaurant recipes - chicken thighs and patatas panaderas by Sabor's Nieves Barragan

  

  Nieves Barragan's Sabor is one of the most highly-rated Spanish restaurants in London (with a Michelin star to boot). Here's one of her recipes to try at home, created in collaboration with Estrella Galicia - and there's also a chance to win a box from Sabor too.  

• The Great Sausage Roll Off announce the 2020 competitors list

  

  There are a few key food competitions in the London calendar that we always pay attention to - namely the Scotch Egg Challenge, the Croqueta Challenge and the Great Sausage Roll Off. 

  It's the last of those that we turn our attention to today. This competitive sausage roll competition, held at The Red Lion pub in Barnes, has been going since 2013. Described (by themselves) as "a bit like the X-Factor meets Masterchef," they pitch it as "an

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• London chefs win the Best Dressed Irish oyster competition for 2019

  

  Forget the Met Ball or Ascot, clearly the best dressed list you should be much more interested in is the Best Dressed Irish Oyster competition. Hot Dinners headed over to Wright Bros in Battersea yesterday to help judge the third annual event. Following a series of heats, 12 of the UK's top seafood chefs were in London to battle it out for the title.

  We joined chef Henry Harris and the wonderfully titled professional 'Ostrelier' Katy Davidson

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• Here's who's taking part in the 2019 Croqueta Challenge - updated

  

  Updated 25/9/19 with finalists' details

  If the impending arrival of Autumn (if it isn't here already) has you depressed, then we have some good news to counter that. September may mean the end of the hols and back to work, but it also means that the Salt Yard Group Croqueta Challenge is just around the corner.

  We've ...

• Fred Sirieix and Allegra McEvedy join up for new CBBC show Restaurant Dream Team

  

  OK - how good does this sound? The lovely Fred Sirieix, fresh from another series of pairing up romance-searchers on First Dates, has just announced his latest TV show.

  He and chef (and the original co-founder of Leon) Allegra McEvedy - are going to be the hosts of Restaurant Dream Team. But this is no primetime show - it's actually going to be on CBBC.

  In a post on Instagram today Fred said: "we are on the hunt for the “Restaurant Dream

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• Netflix signs up Clare Smyth, James Knappett and Jay Rayner for The Final Table chef competition

  

  Update 20/11/18 - the whole series is now available on Netflix right here (assuming you're signed up). Episode 3 is the UK one and yes, the American host's understanding of current British cuisine isn't exactly what we hoped for. Tell us what you thought in the comments below...

    

  Original

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• The Great British Menu 2018 - a guide to the London restaurant chefs taking part

  If you're inspired by this year's Great British Menu to try some of the chef contestants' food, here's our guide to the London restaurants with chefs taking part, what to order and how much it costs to dine there.

• The Million Pound Menu is coming back for a second series and they're looking for participants

  

  If, like us, you enjoyed watching the lovely Fred Sirieix on the Million Pound Menu then the good news is he's coming back. BBC Two have just ordered a second series of the restaurant business show.

  If you didn't catch the first one - recap, it's like Dragon's Den for restaurateurs with industry experts offering their mentoring

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• Starting line-up for the 2018 Croqueta Challenge revealed

  

  Updated 18/8/18 with finalist details

  Always one of our favourite nights of the year, the Croquetas Challenge is gearing up for its 2018 event. Now in its third year, this competitive comparison of London restaurants' best croquetas takes place at Ember Yard in Soho and they've already got a cracking line-up.

  In the mix so far this year are Rovi, Farang, Eneko, Salt Yard, Opera Tavern, Aqua Nueva, Carousel, Blanchette, Brindisa, Jugged Hare, Claw

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