Alex Angelogiannis crowned National Chef of the Year 2024

Alex Angelogiannis, senior sous chef at the Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Crieff, has been named National Chef of the Year 2024.

After receiving the award at a glittering ceremony held at the Hippodrome in London’s Leicester Square tonight (10 October), where Sam Dixon, demi chef de partie at Northcote, was also named Young National Chef of the Year.

Angelogiannis said: "I'm ecstatic. I don't think it's going to sink in for a while, it's an honour to be here and I had a lot of fun."

Twelve finalists took part in a cook off earlier in the day for the National Chef of the Year title, where judges included Kenny Atkinson, Matt Abe, James Petrie, Anna Haugh, Brett Graham, Tom Shepherd and Phil Howard.

Angelogiannis impressed with a starter of line caught mackerel, a dolma of Lumina lamb rib, coppa and offal and a dessert of Valrhona chocolate with beetroot, lovage and brambles.

Chair of judges Atkinson, who is chef patron of House of Tides and Solstice restaurants in Newcastle, set the brief for this year’s competition asking the chefs to focus on food waste and the creative use of ingredients.

He said: “I knew this was going to be an incredible final, but it’s exceeded all my expectations. Knowing how hard it was for us to select the finalists, picking a winner was never going to be an easy task and today all the chefs have cooked from their hearts and shown incredible skill.

“Winning meant so much to every single one of these chefs but Alex’s high scores from our judges put him in that much sought-after top spot. I’ll be following his journey over the next year and am confident he will be an incredible ambassador for the competition and wider industry.”

The 2024 runner-up was Matthew Smith, head chef at Inver restaurant, Cairndow, while Cleverson Cordeiro, head chef of Frog by Adam Handling in London, finished third.

Angelogiannis added: "I’m really proud the first two places went to Scotland; a lot of my craft I learned in Scotland."

In the Young National Chef of the Year competition the runner-up spot was claimed by Nathan Johnson, junior sous chef at the Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, with Jonny Smith, junior sous chef at Gravetye Manor finishing in third place.

The National Chef of the Year competition, organised by the Craft Guild of Chefs, is now in its 51st year.

Competition director and food innovation and sustainability director at Sodexo UK and Ireland, David Mulcahy said: “It might sound like a cliché, but this competition genuinely gets more and more impressive every year as we attract new culinary elite to enter.

“The brief set by Kenny Atkinson really got creative juices flowing for chefs and we’ve seen and tasted so many outstanding dishes today. Alex now joins that illustrious list of chefs and will be firmly embedded in hospitality history, following in the footsteps of former winners such as Gordan Ramsay, Simon Hulstone, Steve Groves and more recently Ben Murphy. The Craft Guild of Chefs will be supporting him over the next year as they celebrate this success.”

The competition’s headline partners Essential Cuisine and Lumina will take the top three chefs on a two-day culinary trip to Liverpool, which will include a masterclass from Paul Askew. While sponsor Continental Chef Supplies (CCS) will reward them with a three-Michelin-star meal and overnight stay in London.

Prizes also include £500, a two-day trip to France to visit Valrhona’s Cité du Chocolat, £500 of CCS and Churchill products as well as a magnum of Champagne Collet from Hallgarten & Novum Wines and their winners’ plates.