Russell Bateman from Colette’s in Hertfordshire has claimed the title of the prestigious Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2014, following an intense two hour cook off at The Restaurant Show.
Daniel Morgan from The Square London was runner up, and Nick Edgar from Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons took third place.
The chefs topped an impressive line-up of finalists which included:
Adam Handling, head chef, Adam Handling at Caxton, London
Andrew Gotting, executive group head chef, Galloping Gourmet, Worcestershire
Diane Camp (formerly Diane Kay), development chef, Reynolds, Hertfordshire
Lahiru Jayasekara, head chef, The Manor at Weston on the Green, Oxfordshire
Simon Webb, head chef, Restaurant Associates, London
The final
The final, which took part in The Restaurant Show’s Live Theatre, involved the chefs preparing a three course meal within a two hour period, utilising pre-specified ingredients. This year, candidates were asked to prepare a first course using fish or shellfish from James Knight of Mayfair, a main course using a choice of meats supplied by RARE, and a hot or cold chocolate dessert, using Cacao Barry Chocolate.
Russell’s winner menu featured Oyster, scallop, celeriac, apple, coastal herbs, Veal sweetbreads, garam masala, girolles, turnip, black garlic, sherry vinegar and Madirofolo, Ghana & Zephyr chocolate, fig, ruby port, yoghurt dessert.
A panel of more than 40 top British chefs, including Brett Graham, Bruce Poole, Clare Smyth, Jason Atherton, Marcus Wareing and Tom Kerridge, led by chair of judges Phil Howard, judged the competitors through their paper entries, semi-final heats and the final itself.
Phil Howard commented, “I’ve been involved in this competition for the last four years and this year we’ve seen the highest overall standard of cooking. In this competition you want finesse, good craftsmanship and exceptional understanding of ingredients which we had today.
“British chefs have come such a long way in their understanding of ingredients and sustainability and British food is in a good place right now.”
Two show stoppers
Clare Smyth MBE, chef patron at Three-Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay who will take over as Chair in 2015 was impressed with the overall standard and with Russell’s dishes, “Russell produced two of the best dishes today – two show-stoppers that I would happily eat in any restaurant in this country. We had extremely high standards at a level that made it very difficult to decide between the top three, each had their strengths. In the end the strong judging panel made it easier to choose a deserved winner.”
Speaking of her role in 2015, Clare said, “It’s a great competition which the top chefs in the country enter, I want to encourage chefs from all sectors to take part – it’s a great platform to get your name out there.
In addition to claiming the UK’s most prestigious culinary title including the specially designed framed winner’s gold medal, there were additional prizes donated by key partners and sponsors on offer. Lockhart awarded Russell a £1,250 voucher towards its product range, a unique study trip to France including dinner at a 3 Michelin starred restaurant. KNORR presented him with a £1,500 adventure voucher. He also received an exclusively designed plate by Churchill and £500 worth of its product, £1,500 in Electrolux Professional equipment and a study trip to Dubai courtesy of Continental Chef Supplies.
All the finalists will be invited to attend a Finalists lunch at Alyn Williams at The Westbury, sponsored by
RARE.
For more information click here
Pictured: David Mulcahy, the competition organiser, Phil Howard, chair of judges, National Chef of the Year winner Russell Bateman, Colette’s Head Chef at The Grove in Hertfordshire, and Paul Nieduszynski, managing director at Bunzl Lockhart.