Organisers are looking for chefs under 23 who have completed their basic qualifications and want to develop their skills further now they are in the workplace.
The awards were founded by Royal Garden Hotel executive chef Steve Munkley in 2002 and take the form of several notoriously tough exams. Just 63 finalists have ever achieved the 85% pass mark.
There is a choice of either a Kitchen or Pastry Award, comprising practical culinary challenges and a formal paper exam.
Chefs will be judged by chair of examiners Russel Bateman, and the new pastry chief examiner Will Torrent.
Recent Graduate Awards alumni include Young National Chef of the Year winners Ruth Hansom and Danny Hoang, and National Chef of the Year 2018 Luke Selby.
“I am a strong believer that the Graduate Awards provide the perfect foundation for ambitious chefs who want to develop their skills for their day jobs, future careers and competitions,” says Munkley.
This year the Graduate Awards finalists will be invited to two days of mentoring in Somerset where they will given the opportunity to develop their skills in preparation for the final exam.
To enter the Graduate Awards, chefs simply need to complete the online form http://bit.ly/CGCGradAwards18 and provide reference details for their current employer before 1 April 2018.