The Craft Guild of Chefs has confirmed all ten finalists for the Young National Chef of the Year 2017 live final which will take place at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday, 4 October, 2016.
Heat winner Ruth Hansom
Heat winners Ruth Hansom, who works at The Ritz, and Arthur Bridgeman-Quin from The Punchbowl will be joined by runners-up Danny Young of Northcote Manor, Drew Snaith from Brunswick House, April Lily Partridge from The Clove Club and Daniela Tucci of The Art School Restaurant.
The final four chefs have been selected based on winning other culinary competitions and include Reece Cosier, the Graduate Awards Highest Achiever, Johnathan Ferguson who won the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year, the Academy of Culinary Arts top scoring chef which is Joel Gueller and the UK World Skills representative, Nicolle Finnie.
David Mulcahy, Vice President of the Craft Guild of Chefs and organiser of the competition said: “For the first time ever we will have ten finalists in the YNCOTY competition and from what we’ve already seen we know this is going to be a closely fought battle. Simply competing in YNCOTY has changed the careers of many young chefs and winning really is the icing on the cake. We’ve seen previous winners go on to have fantastic careers and are now starting to see some of them competing for the senior title too. It really is a life-changing opportunity for these ten chefs and I encourage them to grab hold of it with both hands.”
April Lily Partridge
Finalists now have to plan a three course menu for two guests, which they will serve up to the high profile judges at The Restaurant Show. On Monday 12 September, the chefs will attend a Mentor Day at the KNORR Kitchen in Leatherhead where they will receive hints and tips as well as watch demonstrations from Mark Sargeant, chef patron, Rocksalt Restaurant, Folkestone and Chef Daniel Galmiche, – Norwegian Seafood Ambassador and former Michelin star chef. To help them prepare for the final, the chefs will learn how to get the best out of whole Norwegian Fjord Trout, supplied by YNCOTY sponsor, Norwegian Seafood.
After tasting the standard of dishes coming from the young chefs at the semi-finals, Mark Sargeant, Young National Chef of the Year Ambassador, commented: “I do believe some of these young chefs could compete with the seniors as the standard is so high. It always amazes me to see how calm and collected the young chefs are. They handle the nerves brilliantly and take it all in their stride. We’ve got some bright, young talent coming through UK kitchens and I am proud to help them grow through this competition.”
The winner and runners up will be revealed along with The National Chef of the Year at an awards ceremony following the final on Tuesday, 4 October.
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