Nahui Keiss wins Scottish Student Chef of the Year 2025

Nahui Keiss from Forth Valley College has been announced as the winner of Knorr Professional’s Scottish Student of the Year Competition 2025.

Nahui, 38, impressed the judges with her main dish of monkfish tail, smoked pork rind, Parmentier potato, vegetable noodles, fennel broad bean puree, lumpfish caviar and champagne sauce. She followed this with a passion fruit and mango entremet dessert with mango passion fruit gel and black pepper tuille.

These outstanding dishes landed Nahui, her assistant Anastasiia Severina and their college lecturer, the coveted prize of an all-expenses paid educational food trip to Italy.

Nahui battled it out in the kitchen to beat four other chef finalists from Scotland’s top catering colleges, in a live final that took place at City of Glasgow College.

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The students competed in teams of two - each consisting of a head chef and an assistant - completing a skills test and delivering a two-course meal, based on this year’s competition theme of wellbeing and the powerful connection between nutrition and health.

In addition to the overall competition winner, Eathan Buchanan, 21, from Ayrshire College was celebrated as winning assistant chef; completing two skills tests - vegetable cuts and filleting fish.

judges impressed

Glasgow-born chef Gary Maclean, who won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016, was a competition ambassador and judge.

He commented: “The standard of cooking in this year’s competition truly blew me away. Our theme was ‘Feel Good Food,’ and what impressed me most was how the students not only embraced the concept but also poured their passion into their dishes.

“The most important thing for me was that they felt proud of what they presented, and you could see that in every plate. The creativity, skill, and heart they put into their cooking were beyond exceptional."

Joining Gary on the judging panel was head judge James Brown, executive chef at Unilever Food Solutions, and Bidfood Scotland’s food development chef, Martin Ross.

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scottish ingredients at the fore

Throughout the competition, the judges were looking for menus that showcased the use of high-quality, locally sourced, and seasonal ingredients. A commitment to reducing food waste was also integral, encouraging the creative use of by-products and ensuring that every ingredient was maximised. The main course had to use Knorr Professional Bouillon as a key ingredient to enhance the depth of flavour.

Knorr Professional’s Scottish Student Chef of the Year competition is now in its second year and aims to discover and celebrate the next generation of young Scottish chefs.

With a focus on nurturing creativity and innovation, the competition seeks to inspire and support students in reaching their full potential, whilst highlighting the vibrant future of Scotland's culinary industry.

The competition also provides a platform for students to develop their skills and promote professional growth, ensuring they are fully equipped to succeed in the fast-paced, competitive culinary world.

The other chef finalists in Knorr Professional’s Scottish Student Chef of the Year 2025 were:

· Runner up, Ross Gourlay, 20 - City of Glasgow

· Graham Watson, 35 - Ayrshire

· Louise Smith, 40 - Ayrshire

· Lewis MacLeod, 26 - UHI, Argyll

The assistant chefs in the competition were:

· Winner, Eathan Buchanan, 21 - Ayrshire

· Evie Edgington, 19 - UHI, Argyll

· Jamie Robb, 17 - City of Glasgow

· Taylor Carrol, 18 - Ayrshire

· Anastasiia Severina - Forth Valley