Craft Guild of Chefs unveils 40 NCOTY 2025 semi-finalists

The Craft Guild of Chefs has revealed this year’s National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) semi-finalists following the competition’s first round.

A total of 40 chefs were chosen to progress in the contest, with judges praising the standard of entries, in particular chocolate desserts. The panel, chaired by Matt Abé, chef patron of the three-Michelin-starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London’s Chelsea, also spotted themes including a strong focus on provenance, sourcing and food waste.

To ensure a fair and unbiased approach, all the entries are judged anonymously. There are separate judging teams for starter, main course and dessert and another team viewing the whole menu for overall balance. Once the marks are submitted, scores are reviewed in a deliberation meeting before any names are revealed to the judges.

For the next round, over the next few weeks the semi-finalists must create an amuse-bouche or pre-dessert with the theme ‘A taste of summer’ using seasonal ingredients. The chefs will be tasked with bringing this to life via the story of a personal food hero, such as an inspirational chef, family member, mentor or industry personality that has inspired this dish.

Ten finalists will then be chosen to cook their original entry on 8 October.

Abé said: “Generally, the standard has been very strong, and we already know that whittling them down from 40 to 10 is going to be a challenge. My advice for this next stage is to really focus on telling us your own personal story so as judges we understand the creative thinking behind your dishes.”

Competition director and food innovation and sustainability director at Sodexo UK & Ireland, David Mulcahy, added: “There were some highly creative styles of cooking in this first round, and it was fantastic to see chefs enter from a wide variety of sectors and backgrounds. A significant number of dishes had particularly elegant presentation with a great deal of workmanship and style. Having judged this competition for many years I feel that I have seen more creativity and innovation in the menus this year and I am already excited to see what’s presented in the next stage.”

A new panel of experts will score the semi-finals alongside Abé and results from both rounds will be considered when selecting the finalists.

NCOTY 2025 semi-finalists

Adam Fisher, head chef, Pennyhill Park Hotel

Ahmed Abdalla, head chef, Legacy at the Grand Hotel

Andrew Tabberner, chef, Bryn Williams @ Porth Eirias

Asen Ibrov, executive chef, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

Ben Drake, head chef, the Elephant restaurant

Charlotte Vincent, head chef, the Leicester Arms, Penshurst

Chris Loye, chef/owner, Flavour

Cleverson Cordeiro, head chef, Frog by Adam Handling

Craig Edgell, head chef, Buoy and Oyster

Daniel Andree, head chef, Beach House

Danny Young, head chef, the Torridon, Scotland

Elliot Hill, executive chef, the Chester Grosvenor

Gary Townsend, chef owner, Elements

Grahame Wickham, head chef, White Hart at Fyfield

Iain Gourlay, head chef, Dalhousie Castle Hotel & Spa

Ian Wilson, Leading Catering Services (LCS), Royal Navy

Jamal Bendghoughi, teaching chef, Le Cordon Bleu

James Turner, sous chef, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught

Jethro Lawrence, development chef, apetito

Kyle Bowman, development chef, Newcastle United - Sodexo Live!

Lachlan Maddigan, chef de partie, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay

Laura Kimber, head chef, Salt

Lee Tyler, head chef, Meadowsweet

Lee Parsons, chef owner, the Parsons Table restaurant

Luciano Lucioli, executive chef, Innholders’ Hall - Artizian Catering

Marcus Ashton-Simpson, head chef, DN1 Delicatessen and Dining

Matt Ramsdale, head chef, Northcote

Murray Cooper, senior sous chef, the Forest Side

Nick Edgar, head chef, Hambledon Vineyard

Orry Shand, executive chef, Entier

Paul Gamble, senior brand innovation chef, Waitrose and Partners

Ruth Hansom Rigby, chef owner, Hansom Restaurant & Wine Bar

Sam Rust, chef de partie, Grove of Narberth

Sam Clover, chef patron, the Peacock Inn Chelsworth

Sergio Cinotti, chef, Gem42

Thomas James, development chef, Tesco

Tom Bennetts, head chef, Driftwood Spars

Tom Heywood, head chef/owner, Pignut

Vladimir Hromek, head chef, South Farm

Yann Florio, director/founder, Haute Cuisine

All semi-finalists have received a prize of a Lafont chef’s jacket from Continental Chef Supplies.

Last year’s NCOTY winner was Alex Angelogiannis, senior sous chef at the Glenturret Lalique Restaurant in Crieff.