Craft Guild of Chefs extends entry deadline for National Chef of the Year

The Craft Guild of Chefs has extended the deadline for National Chef of the Year entries, with submissions now closing at midnight on Monday 22 May.

The original deadline had been set for 10 May, but the Guild stated that it did not want the upcoming bank holiday weekend and the King’s Coronation to “create a barrier” for busy chefs.

Chefs competing for the coveted National Chef of the Year title will be tasked with creating a three-course menu in two hours that offers creative solutions to food waste and the cost-of-living crisis.

All entries are judged anonymously during the first stage, so any chef from any sector can be put to forward to the second round of the competition.

The starter can be a fish, seafood or vegetarian dish, but is required to place a strong emphasis on vegetables, pulses or grains due to the waste reduction criteria.

For the main course, chefs will be asked to cook a lamb dish using two cuts of lamb, suitably garnished.

The warm or cold dessert must include chocolate and a savoury aspect from a vegetable or vegetable derivative.

David Mulcahy, food innovation & sustainability director at Sodexo UK and Ireland, said: “We know how busy chefs are going to be over the coming weekends and we don’t want this to create a barrier to entering so we have given chefs almost another two weeks to complete their entries.

“There has been a real buzz around the brief with chefs relishing the freedom to put their own spin on the criteria. If you haven’t registered on the National Chef of the Year website yet, I would recommend that all chefs find out more. It can open doors for you and even making the semi-final has been known to be career changing for so many chefs.”

The Craft Guild of Chefs is the largest UK Chefs’ association. Previous winners of the National Chef of the Year include Gordon Ramsay, Simon Hulstone, Luke Selby and most recently Ben Murphy.