BERMUDIAN Chris Malpas last week took top prize in an elite competition for chefs around the world.

In a cook-off styled in the manner of the Food Network?s series, Mr. Malpas went head to head with five of the best during the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Association?s annual International Chefs? Championship in New York.

In addition to receiving top honours and a silver medal in the prestigious competition, the culinary artist walked off with a $2,500 cash prize for his creative pairing of veal and lamb.

?It?s always tough,? he explained yesterday. ?Anything can happen. You only have an hour to produce four entr?e portions with an additional five minutes to plate. If you miss that window, you?re penalised. You?re given enough to produce four portions. If you lose your concentration, if something burns, you don?t have that time to recover.?

Mr. Malpas studied at the Bermuda College and the Culinary Institute of America. After three years at the Hotel Alex in Zermatt, Switzerland, he returned to Bermuda and today cooks in the Bank of Butterfield?s executive dining room.

Just to be accepted into the competition is impressive, he explained. Although he didn?t know the numbers of applicants, hundreds may apply with only six selected based on their resum?s and proposed dishes.

?You never know who you?ll face in the category or their (culinary) background,? he said. ?It?s hard to say how many applied for a spot but they only accept six people. There were guys from all over the world ? one of my competitors was the executive chef of the Ritz Carlton at Phoenix ? and the guidelines are fairly tough.

?The Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Association organise the competition and its format, but the judging criteria fall under standards set by the American Culinary Federation whose members are brought in to oversee the judging.

?Although I won the category, I didn?t take home the gold medal. We?re competing against the grade rather than the (other five chefs). It?s not like the Olympics where someone has to win a gold medal. We work off a scale system through which points are awarded. To my knowledge, there weren?t any gold medals handed out.?

The local chef has won several awards for his skills in the past. In 1998 his innovative recipe for salmon, which he dubbed Spice Calypso, earned him second prize ? and his first silver medal ? in the same competition he participated in last Saturday.

Having experienced the competition before did not give him an edge, Mr. Malpas said, especially as he was thrown a few curve balls.

?Initially, the category was to have been pork but two weeks before the competition, sponsorship changed and it was decided it would be petit rack of veal and rack of lamb. I called it Rack to Rack.

?I did a dry run at the bank for the chairman, the president and a couple of the executives under the same (cooking conditions), had them critique (the dish) and made a few changes based on their recommendations.?

The winning combination saw an individual chop of veal with prosciutto and sage, encrusted with sweet potato on a portabello mushroom ragu with asparagus and lamb stuffed with a fresh artichoke and parmesan filling, served with new potatoes, baby spinach, roasted yellow peppers, grape tomatoes and a merlot-scented jus.

While the International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Association provides all basic ingredients, extras ? such as a specific size of tomato or certain brand of balsamic vinegar ? become the responsibility of the chef.

?They told me I could find whatever I needed there and, for whatever reason, the hardest things to find were the artichokes and the new potatoes,? the chef added. ?Fortunately, I was wandering through Little Italy the night before the competition and came across (them) on a guy?s menu and he pointed me in the right direction.

?But the most important part is preparation. You have an hour to pre-set and collect any bits and pieces you need. It?s important to use it wisely.?

At the end of the day, Mr. Malpas said, the competition was all about honing his skills as a chef.

?Professionally, it?s another award; a distinction on my resum?. And the cash prize is always nice.?