Winner of Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge 2022 Crowned  After battling it out against hundreds of culinary students from across England, Scotland and Wales, Rishiram Chaudhary from Eastleigh College took top spot and Best in Class at this year’s Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge.  Formally known as the Major Series, the Chef’s Culinary Challenge is one of the industry’s longest-standing, most prestigious young chef competitions. Run in partnership with The Craft Guild of Chefs, the competition brings together catering students from across the UK to compete. Giving students one of their first opportunities to go head-to-head with their fellow pupils, the competition allows them to showcase their skill and talent. Kick-started with regional heats in January and February at colleges in Eastleigh, Durham, Loughborough, South Devon, Llandudno and Glasgow, each regional winner and runner-up of the Major Main Course Challenge goes through to the national final in London in March. Taking place at HRC 2022, the Live National Final pitted the regional winner and runner up against one another in the 50-minute Main Course Challenge. Each competitor was tasked with preparing, cooking and presenting two portions of a plated main course dish that would be suitable for a fine dining, brasserie menu. Using at least one Major product, judges were looking for a dish that was balanced, flavoursome and well presented, with additional points being awarded for professional technique, skill, hygiene, timing, seasonality and sustainability.  Taking top spot in the national competition, Rishiram Chaudhary wowed the judges with his great guinea fowl dish, taking home the top prize of a £500 voucher, while his college also received a £200 voucher. Rishiram, a level 3 Advanced Professional Catering student from Eastleigh College, initially entered the competition as a way of building his own skills for his future career. In a closely fought final, Rishiram took top spot, ahead of students from Durham, Exeter, Hartlepool, Loughborough, South Devon and Glasgow.  On winning the competition, Rishiram Chaudhary commented:  “I am delighted to have won the National Final of the Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge. Having won my regional heat, I knew the pressure would be on when on the national stage, so I practiced hard, creating my dish from scratch. The competition has allowed me to develop my skills for the future. My thanks go out to my lecturers at Eastleigh College for their ongoing support and guidance.”  The Main Course Challenge was the flagship contest of several competitions that make up the Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge. Students from across the UK also had an opportunity to compete in the Street Food Cook-Up, the Pan-Asian Vegan Culinary Challenge, Wrap & Go Food Skills, Coffee Shop Cake Bake, Care Afternoon Snack Food, Bakery, Restaurant Skills and The Takeaway Coffee & Quick Bite rounds.  On the longevity and continued success of the competition, Fergus Martin, Senior Development Chef at Major added:  “Major is extremely proud to support such a prestigious student chef competition in partnership with The Craft Guild of Chefs. Given the challenges that our industry has faced over the past two years, being able to celebrate the future talent and rising stars of our industry is needed more than ever. The Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge welcomes students from across the UK to compete to showcase their talent and skill on a national stage. This year, the competition was more closely contested than ever, which makes Rishiram’s achievement extra special – our congratulations go to him and the team at Eastleigh College. We look forward to watching Rishiram’s career go from strength to strength in the future.” To find out more about the Major Chef’s Culinary Challenge, to apply for a place in next year’s competition, or to find out more about Major stocks, sauces and gravies, please visit www.majorint.com or call +44 (0)1933 356012.

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall  – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.