Young Chef Young Waiter 2011 regional finalists revealed
The heats, which will take place from 7 September, will select eight chefs and eight waiters to go on to the finals at Westminster Kingsway College on October 19 for a chance to win the £1,000 first prize.
New awards this year are for Best Barista, Best Wine Knowledge and Best Cheese Knowledge in the waiter category and for the chef category, Best Original Dish, Best Dessert and Best Kitchen Craft.
The North heat for the chef category will take place on 7 September at Darlington College, while the North heats for the waiter category will commence at Rockliffe Hall in Darlington on 8 September.
The South heats for the participating chefs will take place on 14 September at West London University, Ealing, while the South heats for the waiters will go ahead on 19 September at Westminster Kingsway College.
All of the finalists, who are aged 25 or under, will be tested on their skills including cooking and butchery for the chefs and water, wine, coffee and cheese for the waiters.
Chefs will be judged by a panel made up of chair Bruce Poole (Chez Bruce), Angela Hartnett (Murano), Phil Howard (The Square) and Gary Jones (Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons).
For the waiter heats, Stephen Mannock, from the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, chairs the panel which includes Simon King (The Fat Duck), Simon Girling (The Ritz) and Jeremy Rata (Bovey Castle, Devon).
Bob Walton, president of the Restaurant Association, said that every year, the standard of entries got higher and higher.
He said: “We can be really proud of all these young people who show so much talent. They are the future of the industry.”
The 16 who are selected for the national final will win a three-day trip to Champagne Laurent-Perrier, and for the national heats each chef will be paired with a waiter to prepare and serve lunch.
The winners of the national finals also win an educational trip provided by Matthew Clark and Hatch Mansfield to Louis Jadot in Burgundy and Jean-Luc Colombo in the Rhône Valley.
Regional heat winners and national winners also receive cheques presented by the Savoy Educational Trust.
The regional finalists selected for the 2011 Young Chef Young Waiter competition are:
Chefs, North
Tom Barnes, L’Enclume, Cartmel
Charlotte Gillespie-Williams, Plough and Harrow Hotel, Birmingham
Christopher Hampton, Nutters Restaurant, Norden, Rochdale
Adam Handling, Fairmont St Andrews, Fife
Chris Kenny, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford
Iain More, Swinton Park Hotel, Masham, Yorkshire
Ryan Murphy, Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire
Tom Parker, Northcote, Langho, Lancs
James Rehill, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, Gleneagles
Daniel Taylor, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford
Andrew Whitelaw, Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire
Matthew Worswick, Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham
Chefs, South
David Balastegui Gonazales, The Vineyard at Stockcross
Edward Bolan, Fox & Grapes, Wimbledon
Jonathan Bone, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
Steven Ellis, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
Lillie Farrow, BaxterStorey (Barclays Bank), London
Chris Johnston, L’Autre Pied, London
Issam Kouhkouh El Mzouri, Melia White House, London
Sathya Raj Ramalingam, London Hilton on Park Lane
Andrew Robertson, Gravetye Manor, Sussex
Charles Smith, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, London
Thomas Swanborough, Wiltons, London
Michael Tweedie, Lucknam Park, Wiltshire
Waiters, North
Jami Armstrong, Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire
Eleanor Bristow, Northcote, Langho, Lancs
Claudio Di Somma, The Ritz, London
Sophie Henderson, Coworth Park, Ascot
Zoe Holmes, The Nottingham Belfry
Alan Jackson, Turnberry Hotel, Ayrshire
Carine Jau, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford
Tobias Klaas, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, London
Emanuele Mazzucchi, Coworth Park, Ascot
Pawel Skrzypinski, Loch Fyne
Adam Willis, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saison, Oxford
Tom Wyatt, Deseo, Gleneagles
Waiters, South
Dean Bonwick, Waterside Inn, Bray
Emilio Pietre Conti, Coworth Park, Ascot
Romain Crozat, Galvin at Windows, London
Marion Dray, Coworth Park, Ascot
Paul Foxon, The Ritz, London
Emily Holworthy, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, London
Eleftherios Kandylis, The Fat Duck, Bray
Liam Kelly, Hinds Head, Bray
Markus Klaas Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, London
Samantha Poynter, Dinner by Heston, Mandarin Hyde Park, London
Burak Sen, The Ritz, London
Romain Taverne, Galvin at Windows, London