The semi-finalists listed below will compete in the heats at Sheffield College on Thursday 11 June or at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school in London on Wednesday 24 June.
The top scoring chefs from both heats will then go through to compete in the National Chef of the Year final at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday 6 October at Olympia, London. This year, the brief is to create an innovative menu for four people, focusing on technical skills, seasonality and sustainably sourced ingredients.
This year all the finalists will have the opportunity to work with a mentor to help them achieve the best result possible in the final. The mentoring panel is made up of well respected chefs from across the UK, including previous winners of the title. The Mentor Day is designed to focus the minds of the finalists on the task ahead and will include workshops, masterclasses, meet the sponsor sessions and the big reveal of the mystery basket. It will take place on Tuesday 15 September at Unilever Innovation Kitchen in Leatherhead.
David Mulcahy, Vice President of the Craft Guild of Chefs and organiser of the competition says, “National Chef of the Year is arguably the toughest culinary challenge in the UK’s competition calendar and the semi-finalists are now facing up to what will be a demanding but ultimately a hugely rewarding experience. Over the past 45 years, we have seen some fantastic chefs make a name for themselves through this competition and I look forward to witnessing this year’s talent.”
Stuart Flint, Regional Training and Demonstration Manager at Electrolux Professional commented: “It’s an exciting time for the industry to see such enormous talent at the semi-final stage and we’re so pleased to be a sponsor of such a hotly-contested competition. Previous winners have gone on to have exceptional careers, and we’re excited to see how this year’s line-up express their culinary flair.”
Alan Swinson, Culinary Arts Director at Le Cordon Bleu London comments on the partnership between the two significant names in the culinary industry: “Le Cordon Bleu is delighted to be hosting the semi-finals of the National Chef of the Year for the second time. It was a pleasure last year to have so many of the UK’s leading chefs under our roof. We are really looking forward to welcoming the National Chef of The Year team again this year.”
Winning National Chef of the Year has helped establish the careers of chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, David Everitt-Matthias, Mark Sargeant, Steve Love, Simon Hulstone, Hrishikesh Desai and last year’s winner Russell Bateman.
The esteemed panel of judges will be chaired by Clare Smyth, chef patron at the three Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
For more information visit: www.craftguildofchefs.org <http://www.craftguildofchefs.org> or follow @Craft_Guild #NCOTY on Twitter.
The full list of semi-finalists for the National Chef of the Year 2016 are:
Lee Bird, Head Chef, Gilpin Hotel and Lake House
Ian Boden, Independent Development Chef, Flourish Food Solutions
James Buckley, Executive Chef, Excel London, Levy Restaurants UK
David Burgum, Head Chef, BaxterStorey
Jake Burton Stewart, Senior Chef de Partie, BaxterStorey
David Bush, Sous Chef, The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
Martin Carabott, Sous Chef, The Royal Automobile Club
Elisha Carter, Head Chef, Café Royal Hotel
Jamie Coleman, Senior Sous Chef, Saunton Sands
Paul Cunliffe, Chef Patron, The Dunsforth Public House & Dining
David Davey-Smith, Chef Instructor, RAF
Andrew Ditchfield, Pastry Chef, House of Commons
Nick Evans, Head Chef, Middlethorpe Hall Hotel
Mark Forman, Executive Head Chef, Goodwood Hotel
Paul Foster, Head Chef, Mallory Court
Michelle Fourie, Senior Sous Chef, Ember Yard Tavern
Mark Froydenlund, Head Chef, Restaurant Marcus
Adam Handling, Head Chef, Adam Handling at Caxton
Anna Haugh, Head Chef, London House
Ollie Hay, Senior Sous Chef, Clifford Chance, Restaurant Associates
James Holah, Head Chef, Sonny’s Kitchen
Stephen Humphries, Head Chef, Foxel Ltd
Larry Jayasekara, Sous Chef, Gordon Ramsay Holding
Mark Kempson, Head Chef, Kitchen W8
Luciano Lucioli, Head Chef, Marks & Spencers Headquarters (Lusso - CH&Co)
Joe McCafferty, Head Chef, Bone Daddies Ltd
Lawrence McCarthy, Sous Chef, The Ledbury Restaurant
Roger Olsson, Executive Sous Chef, The Dorchester Hotel
Jack O’Sullivan, Sous Chef, The Angel Inn at Hetton
Peter Pickering, Sous Chef, Galvin La Chapelle
Sauarbh Prabhakar, Executive Sous Chef, Hilton Hotels
Gabor Pusztaidoc, Head Chef, The Pack Horse Inn, Ellingham
Luke Smith, Head Chef, Lusso CH&Co
Zoltan Szabo, Senior Head Chef, Cameron House on Loch Lomond
Marcin Szelag, Senior Sous Chef, Rocksalt Restaurant
Adam Thomason, Head Chef, Restaurant Associates
Simon Webb, Head Chef, Restaurant Associates
Nick Whatmough, Head Chef, Merrill Lynch
Andy Wright, Sous Chef, Restaurant 23
Neil Yule, Head Chef, Sodexo