Buffster begins the challenge

Last night was our first exciting cook-off!


The egos were huge, the stakes were high and the kitchen was a complete mess! Buff (whose name is also Al but is not the same as The Gay) didn't know that he was first off the mark but did an amazing job nonetheless. This proves that he holds up well under spontaneous pressure and boosts his position within the competition! In terms of the actual meal it was a triumph. Buffy made three pizzas with two sumptuous an incredibly tasty toppings: basic margarita and the second was parma ham, olives, fresh basil and mushrooms. 

It was a very impressive undertaking and Buff made everything from scratch - dough,the tomato sauce and then obviously added the toppings. His technique was great as he made sure that the base was neither doughy nor soggy, in fact it was perfect - crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. I loved both toppings, but I must say that the parma ham one was the out and out winner. The ingredients were so simple, hearty and fresh and the pizza was oozing with flavour and clearly made with love (one hopes!). Unfortunately, because we have limited space, and Buffy has limited hands, we had to eat the pizzas in shifts but it was a fun and interactive experience nonetheless. We were all super hungry, but it made eating the finished product that much more delicious. 

Nick Ford, pictured left, our illustrious first guest judge was a gracious and complimentary critic, scoring Buffy with an awesome 82 out of a possible 100 points. He scored Buffy the best for taste (30 out of 35), authenticity (4.5 out of 5) and pricing (25 out of 30). We hope he visits again soon as we had an amazing time with him. 


Perhaps it's at this point that I should introduce the contenders... Pictured here is my darling flatmate and best friend, otherwise "The Gay" Al...or Big Gay Al..but don't tell him I said that :) Writer, fellow-blogger, greenie, stylista and all-round awesome person, Al specializes in Asian cuisine and thrupples :) He also scored Buffy and overall 82 out of a possible 100 points.

"The Guy" is pictured here on the right. My darling man, Allister/Buffy. He is an amazing cook and used his time whilst unemployed honing his culinary skills. Buffy has many specialities including home-made ravioli, fish dishes and an amazing ginger cheesecake. During the daytime, Buff is a risk analyst and is awesome! :) The rule is that everyone has to score and so Buff awarded himself a modest 80 points overall.

 And here I am, but you all know what I know look like and you know what I do. MM delicious celery... mmm. I love baking most of all and I even made a little peach galette to accompany our pizzas last night. 


But I digress, back to the scoring, I clearly was a little biased and need to work on my objective scoring because I gave Buff 86 out of 100. Well done - I thought it rocked!!


OK so Buffy's total average score out of 100 was 83!!! Pretty damn good. Next to cook is me on Thursday so we'll be keeping you posted. I'll post the pizza dough and tomato sauce recipe up later so you can try it for yourself :)


















                                                    Buff's Triumph!!