They were selected from the 40 shortlisted to take part in the semi-final heats at Sheffield City College on June 10 and Le Cordon Bleu cookery school in London on June 25. The announcement was made at the London heat, which for the first time had taken place in the renowned school’s training kitchens.
The finalists are:
Adam Handling, head chef, St Ermins Hotel, London
Andrew Gotting, executive group head chef, Galloping Gourmet, Worcestershire
Daniel Morgan, sous chef, The Square, London
Diane Camp (formerly Diane Kay), development chef, Reynolds, Hertfordshire
Lahiru Jayasekara, head chef, The Manor at Weston on the Green, Oxfordshire
Nick Edgar, head chef, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxfordshire
Russell Bateman, head chef, Colette’s, Hertfordshire
Simon Webb, head chef, Restaurant Associates, London
The judging panel for the semi-finals included chefs Phil Howard, Clare Smyth, Benoit Blin, Ben Tish, Cyrus Todiwala, Gary Jones and Vivek Singh.
Howard, co-chair of the judges, said: “A huge amount of energy and enthusiasm goes into chef competitions. The competitors aren’t here because they have to be but because they have an absolute, all consuming passion to compete and a commitment to their profession.
“As a judge I’m always interested to see where British cooking is at and what shines through today is proper cooking, seasonality and provenance. I’ve enjoyed some outstanding food and phenomenal finesse today and I’m looking forward to some excellent food at the final.”
Each chef prepared a three-course meal for four guests within two hours, which had to reflect one of the categories – Asian; Oriental; Modern British; Modern European and Rest of the World cuisines, and consist of a vegetable-focused starter, main course using locally sourced fresh white fish, with appropriate accompaniments and a dessert using summer fruit, served hot or cold.
Shortlisted starter dishes included ‘A chilled English garden essence’ from Russell Bateman consisting of Wye Valley asparagus, orange and chantenay carrot salad; and Aylesbury duck pastrami from Diane Kay. Mains included halibut, wild garlic, cauliflower, gem from Adam Handling, and a dessert of strawberry and elderflower panna cotta, gooseberry and Gewürztraminer from Nick Edgar.
Each finalist will take part in a Mentor Day on September 19, at Unilever Food Solutions in Leatherhead, Surrey, where they will see for the first time the mystery basket of ingredients from which they must choose items for their menu in the final. They will go on to compete in front of a live audience at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday, October 7.
David Mulcahy, Craft Guild vice president and competition organiser, who is looking forward to seeing the finalists in action, said: “By becoming a National Chef of the Year, the winner will enter an exclusive club of gifted British Chefs, many whom have gone on to enjoy fantastic careers. We’re really looking forward to seeing eight talented chefs compete for their place in culinary history.”
For more information, visit www.craftguildofchefs.org