The Craft Guild of Chefs has named the 40 chefs who will go on to compete in the semi-finals of its National Chef of the Year awards this summer.
The 40 chefs were selected from a high number of applications following the paper judging round, where the brief was to submit a creative lunch menu for four guests within two hours. The menu had to reflect Asian; Oriental; Modern British; Modern European and Rest of the World cuisines, and consist of a vegetable focused starter, main course using locally sourced fresh white fish with appropriate accompaniments, and a dessert using summer fruits, served hot or cold.
The Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2014 semi-finalists and competition dates
SHEFFIELD – HEAT ONE – 10 JUNE Sheffield City College, Sheffield
Zoltan Szabo, Head Chef, Grand Central Hotel
Andrew Wright, Sous Chef, Restaurant 23
Max Tempest Endicott, Sous Chef, The Star Inn
Thomas Pickard, Sous Chef, Swinton Park Hotel
Dylan Wyn Owens, Sous Chef, Belle Epoque
Robert Potter, Head Chef, Lucknam Park Hotel
Ian Boyd-Thorpe, Sous Chef, The Peat Inn
Andrew Gotting, Executive Group Head Chef, Galloping Gourmet
Glenn Evans, Food Development Manager, Greene King
Slawomir Mikolajczyk, Head Chef, Winteringham Fields
Dion Jones, Head Chef, Crewe Hall Hotels
LONDON – HEAT TWO – 25 June – Le Cordon Bleu, London
Kyle Jenkins, Sous Chef, La Trompette
Paul O’Neill, Senior Sous Chef, Ashdown Park Hotel
Andrew Lagor, Business Development Chef, Unilever Food Solutions
Byron James Hayter, Head Chef, L’Horizon Beach & Hotel Spa
Francisco Carrasco, Sous Chef, Aqua Shard
Diane Kay, Development Chef, Reynolds
Rohan Wadke, Junior Sous Chef, Grand Central Hotel
Saurav Nath, Sous Chef, Gymkhana
Liam McKenna, Junior Sous Chef, Sandringham Yacht Club
Sankar Chandrasekaran, Sous Chef,The Cinnamon Club
LONDON – HEAT THREE – 25 June – Le Cordon Bleu, London
Adam Handling, Head Chef, St Ermins Hotel
Russell Bateman, Head Chef, Colette’s
Greg Newman, Junior Sous Chef, Bovey Castle
David Bush, Senior Chef De Partie, House of Commons
Andrew Birch, Sous Chef, Montagu Arms Hotel
John (Jake) Burton Stewart, Senior Chef de Partie, BaxterStorey
Steven Wylie, Executive Chef, Sodexo
Tony Stuart, Hospitality Head Chef, Lexington Catering (Standard Bank)
Scott Dineen, Senior Sous Chef, BaxterStorey
Simon McKenzie, Executive Chef, R.W. Randall
LONDON – HEAT FOUR – 25 June – Le Cordon Bleu, London
Daniel Morgan, Sous Chef , The Square
Iain Dixon, Sous Chef, The Nut Tree Inn
Fabian Palese, Sous Chef, The Park Lane Hotel London
Al Eggleston, Executive Chef, Vacherin
Simon Webb, Head Chef, CH&co
Neil Yule, Head Chef, Sodexo
Lahiru Jayasekara, Head Chef, The Manor at Weston on the Green
Maarten Geschwindt, Chef Patron, Landmark Hotel
Nick Edgar, Head Chef, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons
Elisha Carter, Head Chef, Café Royal Hotel
The heats will take place at Sheffield College on Tuesday June 10th and at Le Cordon Bleu in London on Wednesday June 25th. It is the first time that the semi finals will take place at Le Cordon Bleu London. Alan Swinson, culinary arts director, is proud to be involved in the competition, “We are absolutely thrilled to offer our Centre of Excellence as the venue for the Semi-Finals of this year’s National Chef of the Year. As Le Cordon Bleu continues to nurture the chefs of tomorrow, it is a privilege to support such a prestigious competition as this. We look forward to hosting an exciting and memorable event this coming June.”
Only eight chefs will go through to the National Chef of the Year final which takes place at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday 7 October.
As well as providing a huge profile boost, the National Chef of the Year rewards the winner with prizes worth thousands of pounds.
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