Stefan Wesley of The Moorings in Alderney, Laszlo Lukacs of Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman’s Rest, Adam Hills of Fancett’s Bistro, Jacek Macienko of JM Chefs Table, and Ammar Soeb Khumri of The Lovat Hotel on Loch Ness will cook in the competition, run by Kraft Heinz in partnership with Great British Menu winner James Cochran and the Craft Guild of Chefs.
Now in its second year, the competition aims to showcase talent within the UK’s independent foodservice sector.
The five chefs will compete in a two-round live cook-off final at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu on 13 October. The judging panel will include Cochran, 2025 Masters of the Menu winner Stefan Sewell, Ian Nottage, head of food development at Fresh Direct, and Martin Eshelby, culinary director at Bidfood.
The winner will receive £5,000, PR support and the opportunity to co-host a supper club with Cochran at Mission Kitchen on 19 November. The runner-up will receive £1,000, while the chefs finishing third, fourth and fifth will each receive £500.
“Reaching the final of Masters of the Menu is a huge achievement and these five chefs represent exactly what we created the competition to celebrate: talented people working within independent foodservice who deserve a bigger platform for their food, ideas and ambition,” says Tom Franklin, UK and Ireland Kraft Heinz Away From Home director.
“We saw first-hand in year one how much value the competition can create beyond the kitchen, from building confidence and raising a chef’s profile to opening up new career opportunities.”