Due to take place in London, Portsmouth and Sheffield between 5-15 September, the semi-finals will narrow down the competitors who will take part in the live final at the Restaurant Show on 11 October 2011.
David Mulcahy, organiser of the competition and vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said entries have been stronger than ever this year, with the total value of the top prize exceeding £15,000.
“Aside from being awarded the esteemed title of The National Chef Of The Year, the winner will receive a host of top-class prizes including an exclusive study trip to France, courtesy of Lockharts one of the headline sponsors of this year’s event, plus wine tasting in the acclaimed Hermitage region and dinner at a 3-starred Michelin restaurant.”
Chefs will be awarded in the following categories: Asian / Oriental; Modern British / European; and Rest of the World / Other.
Past winners of the National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) competition include Gordon Ramsay, Mark Sargeant, Kevin Viner and Simon Hulstone. Last year’s winner was Hrishikesh Desai of the Lucknam Park Hotel near Bath.
The semi-finalists this year are:
- James Baker, sous chef, ESS Support Services
- Marcus Bean, chef/owner The New Inn
- James Buckley, executive chef UCL, Compass Group
- David Bush, senior chef de partie, House of Commons
- Pratap Chahal, head chef, The Peasant
- Paul Anthony Cunliffe, head chef, Crown Hotel
- Micheal Dipple, junior sous chef, Cannizaro House
- Glenn Evans, development chef, Reynolds Catering Supplies
- Gary Fish, hospitality manager, Bite Catering
- Frederick Forster, head chef, 44 Restaurant and Lounge
- Justin Galea, head chef, Turnberry Luxury Collection Resort
- Hayden Groves, executive chef, Lloyds of London, Avenance
- Daniel Jones, head chef, The Harp Inn
- Imthiaz Kader, head chef, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge
- Diane Kay, sous chef, Carlton Club
- Selin Kiazim, sous chef, Kopapa
- Peter Knibb, chef/proprietor, Restaurant 23
- Ashwani Kumar, head chef, Mango Lounge Windsor
- Joe McCafferty, senior chef de partie, ROKA restaurant
- Palash Mitra, sous chef, The Cinnamon Club
- Ian Morgan, executive chef, Cucina
- Martin Nisbet, Angelus Restaurant
- Ryan Perratt, head chef, The National Café, Peyton and Byrne
- Robert Potter, sous chef, Lucknam Park Hotel
- Sudha Shankar Saha, executive chef, Saffron
- Sujan Sarkar, head chef, Automat Restaurant
- Hansel Sheldon, executive sous chef, The Dorchester Collection
- Kevin Sutherland, executive services senior sous chef, Barclays Bank-Baxter Storey
- Michael Tate, chef de partie, Harvey Nichols, Manchester
- Daniel Towell, head chef, Avenance, Elior
- Dez Turland, executive chef, Brend Hotels Saunton Sands
- Ernustus Van Zyl, chef Practical tutor, Devere Hospitality Academy
- Adrian Vaughan, senior sous chef, Runnymede on Thames
- Simon Webb, head chef, Restaurant Associates
- Alyn Williams, chef/patron, The Westbury
- Joo Young Won, senior sous chef, Galvin at Windows Restaurant
- Andrew Wong, chef, Bumbles Restaurant
- Simon Woods, lecturer, Westminster Kingsway College
- Andrew Wright, chef, Arden Hotel
- Terry Wright, head chef, Compass Group