The London heat at Capital City College Westminster took place yesterday (1 July), following last week’s opening semi-final at Sheffield College, with chefs across both cook-offs competing for a place in this year’s final.
Inez Roggema, chef de partie at The Ledbury, went straight to the final after achieving the top spot in the Graduate Awards and was joined by Alex Williams, chef de partie at Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa, who secured his spot directly in the final after winning the British Culinary Federation’s Young Chef of the Year competition.
A place in the final will also be awarded to the highest achiever in the kitchen category of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Annual Awards for Excellence.
Following the cook-off, Tom Shepherd, chair of YNCOTY, confirmed: Ben Cleary, from The Forest Side Hotel; Dylan Evans, from Henrock by Simon Rogan; Hope Ryall-Thurlow, also from Henrock by Simon Rogan; Lewis Nicholas, from Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo, Ireland; Zach Shaw, from The Peat Inn; Eno West, from Northcote; and Toby Whitehead, from Woven by Adam Smith, have also secured their places in the final.
Competitors were tested on their technical skills, starting with a butchery test using a whole Gressingham duck before serving up their own duck main course using a Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce or char siu sauce. This was followed by a pre-dessert using at least one fruit purée from Les Vergers Boiron.
The judging panel included Tom Shepherd, Cherish Finden, Gary Jones, Kenny Atkinson, Luke French, Hrishikesh Desai, Sarah Frankland, Josh Angus, Miller Prada, Ali Howard, Paula Stakelum, Andrew Gravett, James Mackenzie and Cal Byerley.
“It was so good to see the young chefs back in a live semi-final where they faced the challenge of a new environment to cook in, the pressure of a two-hour time limit and some of the top chefs in the UK watching their every move,” says David Mulcahy, competition director and vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs.
“The judges were impressed with the high standard across both heats.
“To reach the final is a significant milestone in any young chef’s career.
“I would particularly like to thank the judges involved this year for adding their expertise and engaging so positively with the young chefs throughout the competition.”
Tom Shepherd, chair of judges, adds: “The level of cooking across both heats made selecting our finalists difficult, but I’m confident we’ve got a very exciting final ahead of us in October.
“As judges, we were looking for chefs who have strong technical skills, who can create delicious flavours and showed a real understanding of the brief that I set.
“All finalists demonstrated their talent, and we’re excited to see them step up again in the final.”
The Young National Chef of the Year final will be held at Le Cordon Bleu on 6 October.