Finalists for 50th National Chef of the Year competition announced

The ten finalists for the 50th National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) competition have been announced.

As part of the elimination process, 40 semi-finalists were asked to create an amuse bouche style signature dish reflecting their favourite style of cooking.

They then had to present these dishes to the judges via video and explain the thinking behind their choice.

The NCOTY final will take place at Le Cordon Bleu London on 19 September, with results to be announced at a VIP event at the Berkeley on the same night.

For their last task, the remaining ten candidates will serve a three-course menu submitted at the entry stage, making seasonal adjustments where necessary.

The starter may be a fish, seafood or vegetarian dish. Judges will consider the sourcing, provenance and sustainability of the chosen ingredients.

For the main, the chefs should incorporate British or Irish venison and include an additional element, whether that is offal, a secondary or primary cut.

The dessert brief is much broader, with the only specification being that it should be a hot or a cold dessert with a clear ‘wow factor’.

Kenny Atkinson, chair of judges, said: “I’ve loved seeing the huge variety in dishes, especially in the main courses and it’s been fantastic to see the different ways chefs interpreted this sustainable dish and how they have ensured the starter and dessert created a balanced menu.

“The video stage was also fantastic to watch as I really felt that I got to know so much more about each chef and why they created the dishes they did. It is going to be an incredible final and if the food tastes as good as it looks, it’s going to be a very tough year for us judges.”

David Mulcahy, vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs and director of food innovation and sustainability, Sodexo UK and Ireland, said: “We have ten very strong chefs in the final; some have made it to this stage before and for others it is their first time. The judges have been blown away at each stage of the competition and I’ve got a feeling that’s going to be the same in the final.

“Our judging is extremely rigorous, and we’ve used different judges at each stage which has allowed us to find ten outstanding candidates, one of whom will walk away the winner in our golden anniversary year.”

Prior to the final, the shortlisted chefs will participate in a mentor experience at Royal Ascot on 6 September.

NCOTY is supported by Boiron, CCS, Churchill, KNORR, Valrhona, Ritter Courivaud and Lumina.

The ten finalists are:

• Cleverson Cordeiro, head chef, Adam Handling Limited / Frog by Adam Handling, London
• Ben Drake, head chef, The Elephant Restaurant, Devon
• Iain Gourlay, head chef, Cringletie House Hotel, Scottish Borders
• Ashok Kumar, head chef, Atul Kochhar's Hospitality Group, Petts Wood
• Ben Murphy, head chef, Launceston Place Restaurant, London
• April Lily Partridge, sous chef, The Ledbury, London
• Matthew Smith, head chef, Inver Restaurant & Rooms, Argyll & Bute
• Adam Smith, head chef, Gravetye Manor, West Sussex
• Gary Townsend, head chef, One Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow
• Grahame Wickham, head chef, The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst