Game Chef of the Year Winner Visits Sweden

After being crowned as Game Chef of the Year 2014 Tom Van Zeller, of Van Zeller Restaurants in Harrogate, won a once in a lifetime trip to Sweden courtesy of competition sponsor Highland Game. He has now returned from his trip which saw him get the chance to go quad biking, fishing and hunt wild boar.

Tom said: “I had the most amazing adventure; it’s certainly something I will always remember. Sweden looked fantastic. We had great weather, fantastic food, drink and phenomenal hospitality. I loved it and hope to return.”

He went on to say: “I am so proud of my title of game chef of the year 2014. As a chef who loves game it was imperative to enter and with a trip of a lifetime trip to Sweden up for grabs it was a no brainer to take part in this prestigious competition.’

As one of the UK’s main game suppliers, Braehead Foods have been running the competition for four years now and it is once again supported by The Staff Canteen and Highland Game.

The competition involves a five-month search to find the best upcoming, professional game chef in the UK with contestants being challenged to cook up fresh, innovative dishes.

This year will see the launch of the first semi finals which shows how significantly the competition has grown. A semi final will take place in Scotland and England with 10 semi-finalists in each country. The top 10 finalists will then compete in the grand final where they will have the chance to cook their dishes for a panel of judges including Paul Gayler, Tom Kitchin and Dominic Jack.

The overall winner will once again have the chance to follow in Tom’s footsteps by hunting wild board in Sweden.

If you’re interested in entering Game Chef of the Year 2015, entries can be made online at www.braeheadfoods.co.uk/gamechef until Friday 17th October. Keep up to date on Facebook.com/GameChefOfTheYear and on Twitter @GameChefOfYear