The finalists have received a celebratory bottle of champagne, courtesy of Hallgarten & Novum Wines and Champagne Collet confirming their place in the final which will take place at the University of West London on Tuesday 10th October 2023.
In previous years, the competition has seen ten chefs make the final but the standard this year has impressed the judges so significantly that it was one of the closest semi-finals in history. Chair of judges Kenny Atkinson requested that twelve chefs were given the opportunity to cook their dishes for the judges.
Atkinson said: “It was absolutely fascinating to watch the videos and see how each chef celebrated their one humble ingredient. The standard of dishes was genuinely mind-blowing from the semi-finalists and so when we put the scores from both rounds together, we had a real challenge on our hands.
“I knew I needed to taste the dishes of every single one of these finalists which is why we’ve increased the number of chefs still in the running. The results have been so close to call in both judging rounds so I would say to every chef who hasn’t made it through to try again as you’ve absolutely risen to the challenge and next year it could be you in this position.”
The finalists for this year are:
- Alex Angelogiannis, The Glenturret Restaurant by Lalique
- Ben Boeynaems, The Beaumont Hotel
- Charlotte Vincent, The Candlelight Inn
- Cleverson Cordeiro, Frog by Adam Handling
- Grahame Wickham, Guards Polo Club
- Jethro Lawrence, Apetito UK
- Karl O'Dell, The Monarch
- Mark McCabe, The Ethicurean
- Matthew Smith, Inver restaurant
- Paul Leonard, The Forest Side
- Ruth Hansom Rigby, Swinton Estate
- Simon Webb, BaxterStorey
Two chefs have also been confirmed as reserves for the final, Yiannis Mexis from Hide and Jozef Rogulski from The Stafford.
Current title holder Ben Murphy, who is chef patron at Launceston Place, added: “It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since I was in the same position as these chefs as so much has happened since winning. Getting to the final of this competition is an incredible achievement but the hard work really starts now.
“Knowing they’ve got this far; these twelve chefs will be hungrier than ever for the title, so my advice is to put everything you have into the competition as only one of you will take it. It was and always will be a career-defining moment for me.”