Young Chef Young Waiter 2011 regional finalists revealed

The regional finalists for 2011 Young Chef Young Waiter (YCYW) competition, organised by the Restaurant Association, have been announced.

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