The 10 finalists are:
- Nathan Lane, chef de partie, The Greenhouse, Dublin
- Charlie Crote, junior sous chef, Allegra, London
- Ieuan Andrew Davies, chef de partie, Manor House hotel, Lincolnshire
- Dervis Mustafa, demi chef de partie, Petrus, London
- Jamaar Semper-House, junior sous chef, Lucknam Park Hotel (Restaurant Hywel Jones), Wiltshire
- Harry Paynter-Roberts, commis chef, Moor Hall, Lancashire
- Rebecca Mary Jackson, junior sous chef, Leila Lily's, Newcastle
- Eden Allsworth, demi chef de partie, Cliveden Hotel, Berkshire
- Sagar Massey, sous chef, Mar Hall Hotel, Golf and Spa Resort, Glasgow
- Jacob Gosselin, demi chef, Longueville Manor hotel and restaurant, Jersey
Due to the ongoing situation with Coronavirus, the selection process has been tweaked for this year with head judge Hrishikesh Desai and David Mulcahy, organiser of the competition, handpicking the finalists based on recommendations from industry experts.
The final decision on the line-up has come from extensive research and guidance from other leading chef competitions or industry associations, says the Craft Guild of Chefs.
The criteria for the final will be announced at the end of June to give the finalists plenty of time to prepare for the competition.
“When we began planning the campaign to find our next winner, we could never have predicted the situation we’d find ourselves in. However, one thing has remained the same throughout this crisis and that’s our determination to ensure that this competition goes ahead,” says Mulcahy.
“The Craft Guild of Chefs has been determined to support the young chef community throughout this crisis. By personally inviting each finalist to get involved we know we have an incredible list of chefs lined-up.”
The cook-off will take place on Monday 7 September at Le Cordon Bleu, with the final to be aired as part of the new ‘Hospitality Unites’ week on Tuesday 29 September.
The winner will be announced on Wednesday 30 September with a live online announcement following the coverage of the National Chef of the Year competition.