Meet the National Chef of the Year 2018 finalists: Karl O’Dell
National Chef of the Year 2018 finalist, Karl O’Dell is senior sous chef at Petrus.
Karl's first taste for cooking came after securing work experience in the kitchen at his local football club whilst he was still at school. At the age of 19 the young chef decided to leave his hometown of Peterborough and travel to London to further his training in becoming a chef. His first job in the big city was as a commis chef for Colette's at The Grove Hotel. Karl spent 6 years perfecting his skills eventually working his way up to become junior sous chef working alongside National Chef of the Year 2014, Russell Bateman. He later moved to The Artichoke in Amersham where he spent two years as sous chef before joining Gordon Ramsay's Petrus as senior sous chef working alongside another National Chef of the Year champ, Larry Jayasekara where he remains today.
How did it feel to get through to the final?
It was such a great feeling I was in shock for a little while but now I'm looking forward to the final.
Why did you enter national chef of the year?
I entered the competition because it's such a great title to win and can give your career a real kick start. I enjoy being up against such strong competitors as well and it's a pleasure to be in the competition.
On Tuesday, October 3 a new National Chef of the Year will be crowned. We take a closer look at this year's finalists hoping to produce winning dishes at the final at The Restaurant Show, which will impress the judging panel.
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