2008 Semi-finalists announced
A panel of judges led by Andrew Bennett whittled them down from the original paper entries.
The lucky semi finalists, who will now go on to a round of live cook offs held at three different venues around the country, are listed below:
HEAT 1
(BOURNEMOUTH - March 12 at the Bournemouth Hotel & Catering Show as part of the Wessex Salon)
- Winston Matthews, Group executive head chef, Cayenne Restaurant (Paul Rankin Group)
- Mark Budd, Executive Head chef, The Stafford Hotel, London
- James Hamilton, Head chef, Hotel Hougue du Pommier, Guernsey (James Hamilton was unable to attend the first heat due to bad weather, and has been put down as first reserve for the Birmingham heats)
- Martin Nisbet, Head chef, Great Hallingbury Manor, Hertfordshire
- Robert Oberhoffer, chef proprietor, The Dove Restaurant, Norfolk
- Frederick Forster, Head chef, The Ritz hotel, London
- Simon Hulstone, Chef proprietor, The Elephant Restaurant, Torquay
- Paul Wildish, Senior chef de partie, Arora International Hotel, Crawley
HEAT 2
(BIRMINGHAM - from April 8th at the Food & Drink Expo, Birmingham NEC)
- Christopher Souto, Chef proprietor, El Toro Grill, Belfast
- Robert Stordy, Corporate chef lecturer, University of Derby, Buxton
- Stephen Thompson, Chef owner, 114 The Arch Restaurant, Leeds
- Wayne Thomson, Head chef, New Hall Hotel, Warwickshire
- Trevor Tobin, Head chef, Chapter Two, Blackheath
- David Waplington, Executive chef, The Bay Hotel, Newquay
- Alyn Williams, Head chef, Petrus, London
- Andreas Wingert, Senior sous chef, Lucknam Park Hotel, Wiltshire
HEAT 3
(BIRMINGHAM- from April 9th at the Food & Drink Expo, Birmingham NEC)
- Steven Allen, Head chef, Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London
- Simon Atkinson, Chief cook, UKLF CSG (Royal Marines), Plymouth
- Nigel Bissett, Sous chef, The Welcome to Town Country Bistro, Swansea
- Ian Boden, Head chef, Limes Restaurant, Derby
- Keith Burton, Executive development chef, Sodexho
- Brian Canale, Head chef, Heritage Portfolio, Edinburgh
- Martin Clayton, European development chef, S.A. Foods, Derby
- Clark Crawley, Sous chef, Barclays Wealth for Compass, London
HEAT 4
(BIRMINGHAM- from April 9th at the Food & Drink Expo, Birmingham NEC)
- Ben Ford, Senior Chef de partie, British Airways Waterside for Compass, Heathrow
- Michael Godfrey, Executive head chef, Eton College, Berkshire
- Andy Twells, Executive chef, Eurest Catering
- David Hunt, Executive chef, B+I Scotland Ireland Sodexho
- Richard Knights, Head chef, The Lavender House, Norwich
- Royston Maddams, Sous chef, Leander Club, Henley on Thames
- Fergus Martin, Executive Chef, Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire
- James Rogers, Chef owner, The Dog Inn, Suffolk
HEAT 5
(NEWCASTLE - May 22 at the North Eastern Culinary Trade Association event)
- Anthony Heath, Head chef, The Pumphouse Restaurant, Durham
- Michael Jameson, Head chef, Longhirst Hall, Northumberland
- David Kennedy, Chef owner, Black Door Restaurant, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Ross Murray, Senior sous chef, Dunblane Hydro Hotel, Perthshire
- Yoram Odentz, Catering manager, SMH (Sodexo), Aberdeen
- Lee Pattie, Sous chef, Golf View Hotel, Nairn
- David Ward, Head chef, Hampden Park, Glasgow
- Justin Woods, Executive chef, Castle Green Hotel, Cumbria
Just eight finalists will then go on to compete for the ultimate prize in a live cook-off at the Restaurant Show in London on October 7, 2008.
They will have four hours to create a four-course meal with a selection of ingredients from a mystery basket.
One winner from each semi-final will be announced on the day, with the three next highest marked entrants revealed online at www.unileverfoodsolutions.co.uk before the end of May.
« Back to previous page