After three years of repressed celebrations, The Great Sausage Roll Off competition is coming back for February 2023, as chefs across the UK compete to create the ultimate sausage roll.
The last event of its kind to take place was way back in 2020, before Covid got its hands on group celebrations. Excitement is running high for this year’s #RollOff, which is sure to bring plenty of merriment to what is usually a rather dull month.
Those keen to show off their rolling skills are invited to apply for the event via a short form. Those lucky enough to get through to the live competition will then compete for the title of Best Sausage Roll 2023 on Wednesday 8 February.
Hosted at The Red Lion pub in Barnes, these guys don’t do things by halves. Judging panels in previous years have included Michelin-starred chefs, MasterChef winners and restaurant owners, so the bar is pretty high. Russell Bateman, who trained under Marcus Wareing, and Paul Foster, chef owner of Michelin-starred Salt, were both on the panel in 2020.
The south west London pub says: ‘We think that sausage rolls deserve more attention than they get. They are the centre piece to a night of serious culinary skill, taken in a seriously light-hearted way.’
Of course, there's more to the event than just sausage rolls. The competition is a fun opportunity to raise money for charity, with all proceeds donated to Hospitality Action. The last #RollOff raised £4,000 – so that’s the number to beat!
Red Lion licensees Angus McKean and Claire Morgan have been running the event since 2013.
The winner of the 2020 Great Sausage Roll Off competition was Alan Chilton of the Bower Inn in Somerset.
Think you have what it takes? You can apply for #RollOff 2023 here.
Plus, find out what's on Costa's Christmas menu for 2022.