McCabe, from Pavyllon London, and Stalker, from Restaurant St Barts, met while working under Rob Roy Cameron at Spanish restaurant ALTA.
Judges described them as a natural team, praising their confident service and technical prowess.
Their duck with green Sichuan peppercorn and peach was judged a balanced pairing with Champagne Gosset Blanc de Blancs.
The judges also praised the dish’s layered flavours and technical ambition.
In the second round, the pair devised a dish using the mystery ingredient, Loch Duart salmon, and paired it with Champagne Gosset Zero Dosage.
“What tipped it over the edge for us in deliberation was that the winning duck dish was so ambitious,” says judge Jordan Sutton, head sommelier at L’Enclume. “Their mystery dish was a great example of grace under pressure, coming up with something on the fly that really highlighted the best qualities of the Zero Dosage.”
Runners-up chef Ben Smith and sommelier Emilio Luiso of The Ritz London were praised for their preparation, knowledge and impeccable service.
The other finalists were Jacob Macleod and Mollie McNamara of Killiecrankie House in Pitlochry; Jack Brett and Fiorella Atencio of Pétrus by Gordon Ramsay in London; and Joel Barton of The Bell Inn in Stilton and Sasha Cerqueira of CORD by Le Cordon Bleu.
The competition was held at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu.
“The competition standard overall was really, really good. I wasn’t expecting it to be that high,” says fellow judge Cleverson Cordeiro, chef proprietor at Frog by Adam Handling. “The chefs were incredible; they were all so professional.”
Now in its 11th year, Gosset Matchmakers is open to chefs and sommeliers with fewer than five years’ professional experience. Organised in partnership with Hallgarten & Novum Wines and Sommelier Edit, it awards the winning team a visit to Champagne Gosset’s historic cellars for a tour, tasting and stay.
Champagne Gosset’s portfolio is distributed exclusively in the UK by Hallgarten & Novum Wines.