Semi finalists announced for the Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of the Year 2010

The judges have whittled down the overwhelming number of entries and the semi finalists are now set to compete in a series of four cook offs at Westminster Kingsway College on Monday, September 13, and Thursday, September 16. Each heat will concentrate on one of the new categories: Asian/Oriental; Modern British/Irish; European (Continental, Central and Eastern, Scandinavian and Mediterranean); and African, the Americas and Australia. The change in format of the competition, initiated to encourage entries across all ethnicities, has created an outstanding selection of talent specialising in a host of different cuisines, says the Craft Guild. David Mulcahy, director of competitions for the Guild, comments: "We've been thrilled with both the number and quality of all the entries received this year. Demonstrated by the number of entries that fell into the different categories, and the great names we've seen entering from such a diverse audience, the new format has certainly been embraced. "We're all too aware how the economic downturn we're experiencing has impacted on each and everyone of us, and we're delighted that competitions such as this are still able to focus the mind and enable chefs time to concentrate on what they love – cooking. If we can allow chefs the opportunity to push themselves to their limits, and beyond, we're fulfilling our commitment to supporting them and encouraging them to learn and aspire to be the best." Stephen Scuffell, the Guild's co-ordinator of NCOTY and one of the key judges at this initial stage, adds: "It goes without saying that the level and commitment of those that enter National Chef of the Year is always high, but I was astonished at the quality and skill that this year's entries have shown and it was an extremely hard task to agree on the semi finalists. "Whether this is due to the different cooking styles we've tapped into, only the semi finals will tell, but it's been an honour to read the entries that have been submitted this year. I wish all those that have got through to the semi finals the best of luck; and for those that didn't, enter again next year as it really was a tightly fought race." The finalists from the four heats will go through to compete at the live final at the Restaurant Show, Earls Court, London, on Monday, October 11. The semi finalists for this year's National Chef of the Year title are: Simon Atkinson, unit caterer, Royal Marines Mark Aust, head chef, Artizan Christopher Bell, head chef, Heathcotes Adam Bennett, head chef, Simpsons Restaurant Lee Bennett, executive chef, Le Pont de la Tour Ian Boden, area development chef, Wilsonvale Mark Budd, executive head chef, Stafford Hotel David Bush, House of Commons Brian Canale, head chef, Heritage Portfolio Simon Christery-French, sous chef, Pearl Restaurant Clark Crawley, head chef, Restaurant Associates Hrishikest Desai, brasserie head chef, Lucknam Park Hotel Richard Edwards, senior sous chef, Lucknam Park Hotel Frederick Forster, head chef, 44 Restaurant and Lounge Justin Galea, executive sous chef, Turnberry Chris James Golding, sous chef, Zuma Restaurant Hayden Groves, executive chef, Lloyds of London Jim Hamilton, head chef, Fairyhill Dean Heselden, head chef, London Clubs International Imthiaz Kader, head chef, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Selin Kiazim, senior chef de partie, The Providores Palash Mitra, curry chef, The Cinnamon Club Robert Oberhoffer, restaurant owner, The Dove Restaurant Christopher Oddie, head chef, Mitie Catering and The Irish Club Grzegorz Olejarka, head chef, Brooklands Hotel Sudha Shankar, executive chef, Saffron Hansel Sheldon Fonseca, sous chef, Gordon Ramsay Holdings Kuldeep Singh, sous chef, Benares Restaurant & Bar Ashley Spencer, lecturer in culinary arts, Westminster Kingsway College Robert Stordy, corporate chef lecturer, University of Derby (Buxton Campus) Lionel Strub, head chef/owner, Fennel Restaurant Dez Turland, group development chef, Brend Hotels Simon Webb, head chef, R