A day of nerves, adrenalin and excitement in the kitchen delivered seven ambitious young chefs who have been selected to go through to the Electrolux Chef Academy 2013 final where they have the opportunity to win the ultimate work experience – placement in three Michelin star restaurants.
From an initial shortlist of 15 students in the semi-final, just seven have been selected to attend the grand final and stand the chance at the winning a year-long paid placement working in three of the UK’s top Michelin star restaurants. The finalists are:
– Viktoria Bernataviciute, Northampton College
– Elizabeth Allen, Westminster College
– Jonah Kellar, City College Plymouth
– Garry Dick, Lewisham College
– Christian Paul Abbott, City of Bristol
– Damon Jones, Fareham College
– Giuseppe Giorgio Finocchio, Westminster Kingsway College
Launched earlier this year, the Electrolux Chef Academy is a nationwide competition for aspiring chefs: just three will win a 12 month placement working alongside Tom Kitchin at the Kitchin in Edinburgh, Simon Hulstone at The Elephant in Torquay, and Jonray and Peter Sanchez-Iglesias in Casamia in Bristol.
Not only will three winners be chosen for the ultimate work experience opportunity, the young chefs will also be invited to attend Taste of London, cooking on stage in front of a live audience, and the winner’s college will receive a state of the art combi-steam oven to help train their future culinary stars
The semi-final: passion to succeed
Took place at the Electrolux Training Academy in Luton and put 15 level three culinary students through their paces in tests of invention and skill. Their personality and ability to handle the pressure was also assessed by the panel, with the judges selecting just seven to go through to the grand final in July.
Michelin star chef Nigel Haworth, CEO of the Craft Guild of Chefs Martin Bates, and Electrolux Professional’s Andy Blakemore were all given the difficult task of judging the young chefs, led by the expertise of seasoned competition chef, Simon Hulstone.
Simon Hulstone commented: “What we were looking for from chefs yesterday was the passion to succeed. There’s already some great talent and skills present from these chefs, but as well as looking for great cooks, it was about selecting people that have the ability to work well in a high pressured kitchen.”
Vanessa Holloway, Electrolux Trade Marketing Manager for Electrolux, said: “Electrolux has been supporting professional kitchens for nearly a century with our appliances, and is proud to be sharing its extensive expertise in the industry to nurture the next generation of culinary stars.
“The standard of the 15 chefs we had in the Electrolux Training Academy was incredibly high and the talent on show was so impressive that instead of six, the judges took the decision to take through seven to the final.”