Finalists revealed for Young National Chef of the Year

The Craft Guild of Chefs has announced the 10 chefs who will be competing for the title of Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY).

Three chefs were automatically seeded to the final after impressing at national qualifying industry events. They were Charlie Knight, chef de partie at the House of Commons, who won the British Culinary Federation Chef of the Year; George Baldwin-Edie, development chef for Marks & Spencer, who was the highest achiever at the Graduate Awards; and Scott Pepper, demi chef de partie at Boodles, who won the Academy of Culinary Arts Awards of Excellence.

Having impressed the judges with their semi-final menus, taking one of the remaining seven spots for this year will be:

• Fraser Cameron, senior sous chef, the Globe Inn, Dumfries
• Mae Dionio, chef de partie, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxfordshire
• Theo Hadjitofi, chef de partie, De Banke Group, West Midlands
• Liam Rogers, sous chef, Gleneagles, Auchterarder
• Jamaar Semper-House, junior sous chef, the Manor hotel, Chippenham
• Joshua Singer, senior chef de partie, Scotts of Mayfair, London
• Nicole Watt, ABCS, Royal Navy Embassy, Admiralty House, Portsmouth

In the final, which will take place at Le Cordon Bleu London on 19 September, the chefs will create an egg starter to include three or more of the following Future 50 foods; pumpkin, heritage root vegetables, watercress, beans, pulses, cereals or grains.

For the main course, the chefs have been asked to create a Provencal-inspired dish using a choice of Norwegian haddock or cod fillet. The finalists will then serve a modern interpretation of a puff pastry dessert.

Chair of judges and executive chef at Northcote, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, said: “While looking through all the menus with my fellow judges, we could really see how seriously these chefs are taking the competition. It’s a title every young chef is hungry for, and I love how they have thrown themselves into the brief I set and each one has added their own personal style to it. I can’t wait to meet the finalists at the mentor day at Ascot racecourse where I’ll be doing a demo and sharing lots of advice to help them go that one step further and take the title.”

David Mulcahy, organiser of Young National Chef of the Year and food innovation and sustainability director at Sodexo UK and Ireland, added: “With the industry still facing so many challenges in attracting young talent, it’s vital we continue to celebrate and champion young chefs. I want to thank not only the young chefs who have taken the time to create their menus, but also their senior chefs who have given them time away from their day job to work on dishes and practice. It’s so important that across the UK we create inspiring kitchens that attract ambitious and talented young chefs. With such an impressive line-up, we’re in for an exciting final once again.”