Graduate Awards are now open for chefs to enter

The deadline for this year's entries is Friday, April 16th. Organisers want to hear from chefs who believe they can first impress top industry chefs with a paper entry and if successful, pass a regional cooking test in July. Chefs who make it through these first two stages will be then invited to take a final cooking exam at Thames Valley University on Thursday, September 9th, judged by a panel of top cooks. This year's successful graduates will be announced in front of hundreds of guests at an awards luncheon at the Royal Garden Hotel on Tuesday, September 14th. Two of last year's graduates, carefully selected from across the industry for their flair and ability, scored higher than the 85% pass mark. Hyun You Im, who secured a dream job with Restaurant Associates, and Daniel Inniss-Fitzhugh, demi-chef de partie at top Oxford restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, picked up their scrolls of honour in front of 200 industry colleagues at a ceremony at the Sheraton Hotel, Park Lane. Craft Guild of Chefs vice president and organiser Steve Munkley said as well as providing a step on the career ladder, the scheme gave established chefs the rare chance to gauge their ability. "When you finish college and go into the industry, no-one ever assesses your progress," said Munkley, executive chef at London's Royal Garden Hotel. "With the graduate programme, I wanted to give chefs the chance to come back and test what they have learned since leaving college. "For example, you might make a rack of lamb once at college, but coming back to make it as a professional chef proves how good your skills really are and see if you have taken what you have learned at college to the next level. It's not a competition but a way to say, yes, I am making great strides up the career path as recognised by some of the best chefs in the industry." He added: "This year, we plan to do things a little differently by holding training days in advance of the exams, and having a chairman of judges for the first time. This will be a high profile chef." Entry forms are available at www.craftguildofchefs.org and once complete, should be emailed to craftguild@btconnect.com. Alternatively, entry forms can be posted to The Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards, 1 Victoria Parade, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3NB or faxed to 0208 948 3944. For more information, call Suzanne on 020 8948 3870 or email craftguild@btconnect.com