10 finalists named for Young National Chef of the Year competition

By Restaurant

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10 finalists named for Young National Chef of the Year competition

Related tags Young National Chef of the Year Competition Chefs Craft guild of chefs

The 10 chefs who will be competing in the Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) final have been named.

To secure a spot in the final of the prestigious cooking competition, organised by the Craft Guild of Chefs, chefs had to create a three-course menu of ‘British themed dishes’ with a twist. They will now serve up these dishes in the final, which will be screened for the industry to watch on 21 October, when the winner will also be revealed.

For the first course, chefs will be tasked with creating a modern vegetarian or vegan version of a classic Scotch broth. The main course will be a take on a classic British fish and chips using either Norwegian haddock or cod while dessert must be an interpretation of the classic crumble using seasonal fruit.

The 10 finalists are:
•    Matt Nicholls, sous chef, Cheal’s of Henley, Warwickshire
•    Daniel Cornish, senior chef de partie, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
•    Bethany Disley-Jones, junior sous pastry, The Art School Restaurant
•    Stephen Naylor, junior sous chef, Restaurant Story, London
•    Joshua Rooney, chef de partie, Paul Ainsworth at No.6, Cornwall
•    Keaton Cooper, commis chef, The Angel at Hetton, Skipton
•    Robert McCreeryBreen, chef de partie, Paul Ainsworth at No.6, Cornwall
•    Sagar Massey, sous chef, Mar Hall Hotel, Gold and Spa Resort, Bishopton
•    Ieuan Andrew Davies, chef de partie, Castle Inn, Wiltshire
•    Owen Connell, chef de partie, Hillgate Quays, Newcastle

Judges for this year will be chair of judges, Hrishikesh Desai, executive chef/food and beverage manager at Gilpin Hotel and Lake House; Chantelle Nicholson, chef-patron at Tredwells; Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive head chef at Northcote Manor; Julie Walsh, head pastry chef lecturer at Le Cordon Bleu; Alyn Williams; George Blogg, executive head chef at Gravetye Manor; and Adam Handling, chef/owner of Adam Handling Restaurant Group.

“When we put the criteria together entitled ‘British theme with a twist’ we didn’t know what to expect. Having scrutinised all the entries with my fellow judges, we unanimously agreed that the ten finalists who are going to battle for the title had put in huge amounts of effort, thought outside the box and made judging very difficult,” says Desai.

“I personally think this will go down to the wire because all the finalists are incredibly talented chefs who are working with equally talented mentors.”

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