Who does the best Scotch egg in London? Often a lively debate and last week I attended the 2012 Scotch egg challenge at the Ship in Wandsworth to find the answer.
This was the second year of the challenge and boasted over 24 entries from restaurants across London - including my favourite Scotch egg hopeful Michelin starred pub the Harwood Arms.
I wasn't too sure what to expect from the challenge but was pleased to learn that we could sample each of the entries. The Ship was super busy and it was hard to get your hands on some of the samples! As you can see from the photo below it turned into a bun fight. It was like feeding time at the zoo with everyone scrambling for an egg!!
We managed to get our hands on a number of the eggs flying past on trays. Standouts included the entry from the Draper Arms in Islington which was black pudding and duck egg! Another gem was from Duck & Waffle who's Scotch egg was curried smoked haddock kedgeree.
The competition was sponsored by Fortnum & Mason who claim they created the first ever Scotch egg in 1738. Judging the egg challenge was an all star list - Fortnum & Mason consultant chef Shaun Hill, celeb chef Gizzi Erskine, Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard and food critique Tom Parker-Bowles.
All in all a very fun evening which was well hosted by Melissa Cole providing many facts about eggs!!
Oh and for the winner!!
The Winner: Berkshire based Bladebone Inn with a duck egg with a truffle layer, encased in potato and parma ham breadcrumbs
Runner Up: Heston Blumenthal's Bray based pub, Hinds Head with a quail egg, Iberico pork sausagemeat and breadcrumbs seasoned with vinegar infused salt