Young National Chef of the Year finalists announced

Ten finalists have been announced for the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) competition.

Following a mentor day on 6 September at the Waitrose Food Innovation Studio, the finalists will be invited to compete in the last hurdle of the competition in October.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen, chair of judges for YNOCOTY, said: “Overall, the standard of entries was really impressive. You could really see the personalities of the chefs coming through their menus and how much they had pushed themselves to take a top spot.

“AAll the finalists have created something that looks both achievable and delicious and I can’t wait to taste these dishes.”

The finalists for this year are:

• Benjamin Mabley, senior chef de partie, Hartwell House Hotel & Spa
• Georgia Abernethy, pastry chef, Posh Nosh Ireland
• Jonny Smith, senior chef de partie, Gravetye Manor
• Joshua Singer, senior chef de partie, Scott’s, Richmond
• Maciej Pisarek, demi chef de partie, The Savoy Hotel
• Miltan Masha, senior sous chef, Monarch Theatre
• Nathan Johnson, junior sous chef, Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa
• Nicole Watt, ABCS, Royal Navy, HMS Defender
• Sam Dixon, demi chef de partie, Northcote
• The winner of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Awards of Excellence (AAE) which will be revealed on Monday 31st July.

George Baldwin-Edie and Harry Donnelly have been named as reserves for the final.