Steve Love: Top five tips of how to win The National Chef of the Year

After closing his Birmingham restaurant, Loves restaurant in 2015 Steve is now co-founder of Loves Consultancy. Steve was crowned champion of National Chef of the Year 2004.

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• More tips on how to win National Chef of the Year from past winners

Steve’s passion for food was instilled in the chef at a young age after his mother encouraged him to take up cooking at school. As part of his prize for winning the Roux Scholarship in 1997 Steve decided to stage at Alain Ducasse’s three Michelin starred restaurant in Paris. On returning to the UK Steve took up a position at Mallory Court where he met his future wife, Claire. A year later they opened Loves Restaurant in Lemington Spa which moved to The College Arms in 2005. In 2009 they opened Loves restaurant in Birmingham before closing six years later.

Steve’s top five tips on how to win National Chef of the Year 

1 - The menu and dishes need to be balanced with flavours, texture and not over complicated, simple, bold and to the point showing as many skills as possible.

2 - When I won the competition there were set main ingredients at the semi-finals and a mystery basket on the day of the final so you could practice the dishes for the semi-finals as much as you wanted but you wouldn't know what you were getting until the day. You had 30 minutes to plan a menu before starting.

Now the finals provide the contestants with a basket in advance so you can practice as much as possible.

Get people to criticise and pull the dishes apart then build them back together. Being told that ‘it's wonderful’ and ‘amazing’ the first time you put the dish up doesn't help you.

Why do you think so many chefs have development kitchens and a separate chef to run them? So their dishes are tried, tested, tasted and analyzed before going on the menu. Go through the same process and get the dishes on the menu so you know them inside out

3 - Make sure each course is nailed to where you want it before doing run throughs.

Taste the dishes as a complete menu to make sure it works and it's harmonious.

4 - Do a lot of practice run throughs and make notes of all the equipment you’re using and time it takes to do jobs. Do lists of the order of work as you can look back and do multiple jobs at the same time, you don't have a lot of time and it will run away from you very quickly.

When you do complete timed run throughs you can see where you can make up time.

5 - Believe in yourself, you’re there to win it, don't worry about what anyone else is doing. The only outcome you have control over is your own. Push yourself.
After winning the National Chef of the Year, one question I was asked was what was the prize for second and third. My answer was, I don't know, I didn't look. Self-belief

By Sian Bennett