Essential Cuisine sponsor young chef competitions

The competition invites budding chefs aged 16 to 20 and experienced chefs aged 21 and upwards to submit menus for a three-course meal using seasonal local ingredients, costing no more than £20 and prepared in less than two hours. The winner of the coveted Master Chef award will win £1,000 while the Young Chef of Tomorrow will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand their skills at a top Michelin-rated restaurant. All entrants will be judged on a written submission, including a detailed recipe for a three-course lunch using ingredients stated on the application form. The judges, Matt Davies, Group Executive Chef at the Moat House Hotel, John Peart, of the British Culinary Federation, and Mike Hughes, of Stafford College, will be looking for the best use of Staffordshire produce within these recipes and how entrants intend to cook them. Six finalists will then be selected in each category to go through to a challenging 'cook off' taking place on May 10 at Stafford College. Pauline Evans, business development manager at Destination Staffordshire, said she was "thrilled" to have Essential Cuisine as one of the competition sponsors. "The awards are a great opportunity to recognise the quality and excellence in a county full of emerging young stars," she explained. "Staffordshire has a wealth of top quality produce and we look forward to sampling the results of the cook-off in May." Present at the competition launch recently were last year's winners Allan Jones, Staffordshire Master Chef 2009, and Luke Staton, Staffordshire Young Chef of Tomorrow. Both now hold professional positions at Keele Hall, Keele University.