Birds Eye has announced the three finalists who will battle it out to become the first ever winner of the Birds Eye Fish Finger Sandwich Awards.

The ultimate cook-off will take place on 16 February, where an expert panel of judges including Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace, Xanthe Clay from The Daily Telegraph, and Peter Lack, Birds Eye head chef, will decide who will take home the title.

Following the launch last November, Birds Eye received an influx of entries and the three finalists in the running for fish finger sandwich glory are:

- A chunky pollock fish finger coated in panko breadcrumbs, placed on top of minted mushy peas within a hot dog bun and topped off with ‘proper’ tartare sauce (Kevin Gratton of Fish Dogs, London)

- Fresh Cornish hake fillet coated in panko breadcrumbs, sandwiched between two pieces of locally made multi-seed bread and homemade tartare sauce (Chris Lanyon of Chapel Café, Port Isaac, Cornwall)

- Cajun haddock in a light tempura batter, inside a brioche bun with ShrimpWreck pickled samphire, tartare sauce and rocket leaves (Ewen Hutchison of ShrimpWreck, Glasgow).

Each finalist will be put through their paces in a cook-off at Mark Hix’s Tramshed restaurant in London on 16 February, where they will whip up their fish finger sandwich masterpieces in front of the judges.

The winner will be determined based on the criteria of innovation, taste and overall presentation, and the king or queen of the fish finger sandwich will be crowned at a ceremony later that evening.

Steve Chantry, Birds Eye UK marketing director, said: “We’re looking forward to an evening of celebration for one of the nation’s best-loved sarnies and seeing who our esteemed judges will crown as the winner of the inaugural Fish Finger Sandwich Awards.”

The winner will have their fish finger sandwich recipe featured on select Birds Eye Fish Finger packs.

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