Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee with Celebrity Chef Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE and the Platinum Pudding Competition

What better way to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee than through our royal passion for food. The Council is calling on all bakers in the Borough to dust down their aprons and enter the Ards and North Down Platinum Pudding Competition!  

The British pudding comes in all shapes and sizes, so you can decide if it is steamed, baked, rolled or layered. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating though, as our judging panel shortlists the puddings considered most fit for a queen.  

There are top prizes up for grabs, including a KitchenAid food mixer, food blender and electric hand mixer. The overall winner will receive an invitation to the Big Jubilee Lunch at this year’s festival.  

Fancy your chances? Pudding entries need to be delivered to Bangor reception of SERC on Friday 27 May, by 11.30am. Judging will take place that day with winners notified the following week.

Entries must be accompanied by a copy of the recipe and the entrant’s contact details. Ts and Cs apply.

  Excitement builds as we plan to welcome celebrity chef Jean Christophe-Novelli MBE, from Novelli at City Quays, at Sea Bangor Celebrates the Platinum Jubilee on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June. Highlights will include top culinary tips from this multi-award-winning chef and answers to all your cookery questions. Jean-Christophe will bring charm and expertise to proceedings as our host for the Big Jubilee Lunch.  

Our team of chefs from SERC will continue Jubilee celebrations by shining a gastronomic light on dishes from the seven decades of Her Majesty’s historic reign. Expect a trip down memory lane, with delights such as Coronation Chicken, Prawn Cocktail or maybe a Devilled Egg or two!  

The Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Mark Brooks, said, “We are thrilled that Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE will be our celebrity chef at Sea Bangor on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 June. He is a multi-Michelin star and 5/5 AA Rosette winning chef, author, and restaurateur who is known around the world for his amazing cooking artistry. It will be a great opportunity to gather some cooking tips and tricks from the best in the business while also celebrating food from the past 70 years.”  

Brian Magill, Hospitality and Catering Lecturer at SERC, said, “We are delighted to be involved in Sea Bangor, which has become a key date in the calendar for hospitality and catering students who will be involved in demonstrations, street food and ambassador roles at the festival. We are excited to be involved in the judging for the Platinum Pudding Competition and recreating the winning pudding for festival-goers to savour. We are expecting the highest standard of entries which will make judging a challenge.”  

Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE, from Novelli at City Quays, said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Bangor and working with the fantastic Brian Magill and the team from SERC. I am very much looking forward to hosting the Big Jubilee Lunch and meeting all attending and involved. The Pudding competition is a great way for people to get involved and showcase their creativity and imagination.”   For more information, visit ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk   

Main Photo: Whisking up a feast for Sea Bangor are Level 2 Professional Cookery students Pearse Sweeney (Bangor) and John Bennett (Bangor) with SERC Lecturer Brian Magill.

Photo 2: Jean-Christophe Novelli MBE, from Novelli at City Quays, will join Sea Bangor Celebrating the Platinum Jubilee.  

Photo 3: Brian Magill, SERC Hospitality and Catering Lecturer,  is inviting entries to the Platinum Pudding Competition. (Image: Ian Pedlow)