Men who cook 2016 a hit

Mandeville, Manchester:

Infused with the aroma of tantalising dishes, the smoke rising from jerk pans and grills was not a nuisance to the hundreds of patrons who turned up for the 2016 staging of the Lions Club's Men Who Cook event last Sunday at Brooks Park in Mandeville, Manchester.

The men turned chefs for the day and showed off another side of their personalities, ditching the suits and ties for aprons and tongs, serving up tasty dishes to salivating palates.

Ian McNaughton from Barita Investments served up a succulent roasted lamb infused with natural seasonings - scallions, onions and thyme, marinated in honey, olive oil and red wine with a secret ingredient. His lamb chops were also a hit - seasoned, precooked and finished on the grill along with a deboned chicken stuffed with creamed potato and mozzarella cheese.

Catering to every taste, the over 50 booths offered an array of meats available - mutton, rabbit, goat, beef, fish, pork, chicken.

But the vegetarians weren't left out. Chief Executive Officer of PSOJ Dennis Chung did not disappoint the vegetarians as he offered up delicious lentil balls and fish fillet. Speaking like an experienced chef, he explained to Food that the lentils are crushed, then rolled with natural seasoning and herbs, and deep-fried. He explained that there was no special ingredient, but a special technique to getting the ingredients portioned correctly for an amazing taste.

Pork lovers were out in their numbers and flocked the Ebony Park HEART Academy for their signature dish of the day - braised pork glazed with sorrel preserves.

Orlando James, who has been a chef for over two years, told Food that his braised pork was a hit because of the infusion of ingredients used. The sorrel preserves, he explained, is used to make a sauce along with blended pineapple, papaya and other natural seasonings and preserves.

He continued in mouth-watering details, "The pork is marinated for about two days to have the flavour going straight down to the bone. Normally, we would put it in the oven, bake it for a while, then put it in the grill. But today we put it straight to the grill."

Pickapeppa's Albert Lowe was not to be outdone. Eager patrons devoured his ginger mango suckling pig in no time. "Basically, I jerk base seasonings; pimento pepper and all the natural seasonings, brown sugar, and I slow-roast the pig for about five hours, then we use the Pickapeppa ginger mango sauce on top," he disclosed.

Sealing the deal for a memorable taste was an Indian-Italian-Jamaica fusion meringue chicken with just the right burst of flavour by Chef Headley Frater.

"We use curry, garlic, hot peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, chicken breast, a bit of pasta shells, a bit of heavy cream and mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. We blend everything together with a secret ingredient and it takes approximately 20 minutes, and then it's ready."

It was a day filled with many satisfied stomachs, all courtesy of Men Who Cook 2016.