When GCDA’s Business Development Manager Gary Mack saw a competition for a new dish at his local pub, the Honor Oak in South East London, he immediately saw a fantastic foodie opportunity. An experimental and keen cook himself, Gary was sorely tempted by the prize on offer – free meals for a month at the Honor Oak. However, rather than entering one of his own dishes for the competition, Gary had another more community-minded idea. He decided to put forward a recipe on behalf of GCDA – one from our new range of ready meals, PLENTY. He stipulated that in the event of GCDA winning, we’d be happy to forgo the free food in exchange for a charitable donation to GCDA.
Cooked in small batches at our five-star kitchen, the PLENTY range features top-notch ingredients from South East London’s Brockley Market. Using free-range meat from The Butchery, homemade sauerkraut from Vadasz Deli and delicious olives from Olive Branch, the meals profile local producers and quality ingredients. What’s more, the profits from each sale help fund GCDA’s community projects.
The five original dishes Gorgeous Goulash, Luscious Lamb Curry, Trinidad-to-go-go,
Spanish Soulfood and Pulse-Packed Spanish Soulfood have been flying off the shelves at the PLENTY stall (every Saturday at Brockley Market). Gary knew the dishes worked well and so he decided to pick one of the most popular, the goulash, and enter it into the Honor Oak’s competition.
Imagine his delight when a few weeks later Gary heard that GCDA’s dish had beaten off stiff competition to take the top prize! “I was over the moon,” laughs Gary. “It’s such a great opportunity for us to spread the word about what we’re doing and share GCDA’s commitment to good food for everyone.”
“We had lots of lighter dishes put forward as entries,” says James Hudson head chef at the Honor Oak, “as well as a range of pie and burger recipes. However, I’m a huge fan of comfort food, and the goulash hit the spot with me. It’s also a bit more eclectic. We love our British classics here at the Honor Oak, but we’re really open to more adventurous dishes – ones that celebrate the wider community. I was also impressed with GCDA and the idea behind the PLENTY range. Gary said if the dish won then perhaps we could talk about the Honor Oak making a contribution to GCDA instead of the usual prize of free meals for a month, so that’s what we’ve done. For every goulash we sell, we’re donating £1 to GCDA to help fund its community work.”
James has tweaked the original PLENTY goulash to make it his own using slow-braised pork ribeye and crushed potatoes. It’s proving a real hit with customers who’ve declared it the perfect match for the local cask, keg and craft beers that the pub stocks.
So – help make March a month to remember and head to the Honor Oak pub to try our gorgeous goulash! And if you’d rather have the dish at home, then pick up our PLENTY ready meals at Brockley Market on Saturdays. All the profits help fund GCDA’s work in the community. PLENTY – made to make a difference.
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