Brakes Student Team Chef Challenge announces its finalists

Brakes has announced the finalists for the five regional heats in this years Student Team Chef Challenge.

In association with the industry's professional body, The Craft Guild of Chefs this year's competition received more than 60 entries of an exceptional standard making it a tough job for judges to select the 27 teams to compete in the regional heats.

The annual Student Team Chef Challenge, now in its 16th year is designed to encourage interest in and support for British food and cooking among teams of student chefs working towards their NVQ qualification in catering. It is a great opportunity for them to show their culinary skill before embarking on their first professional job

The teams in the regional heats will now have to impress a judging panel of leading industry professionals when they cook a three-course meal for four using local and regional ingredients. Judges will be assessing the seasoning, taste, presentation, culinary skills, working methods and regionality of the teams menus at a series of cook-offs in early 2010, before the regional winners go on to compete at the final held at Hotelympia.

The regional heats and finalists are:


Scotland Regional Heat, 28 January 2010
Ayr College, Ayr
South Lanarkshire College, East Kilbride
Forth Valley College, Falkirk
South West College, Northern Ireland x 2 teams

Northern England Regional Heat, 2 February 2010
Sheffield City College, Sheffield
Liverpool Community College, Liverpool
Tyne Metropolitan College, Tyne and Wear
Wakefield College, Wakefield
Nelson and Colne College, Lancashire

London & South East England Regional Heat, 24 January 2010
Westminster Kingsway College, London
Thames Valley University, Ealing
Thurrock & Basildon College, Grays
Thanet College, Broadstairs
Mid Kent College, Gillingham
Highbury College, Portsmouth
Fareham College, Hampshire
Eastleigh, Hampshire

Midlands Regional Heat, 29 January 2010
North Warks & Hinckley College, Nuneaton
Cambridge Regional College, Cambridge
Loughborough College, Loughborough
Suffolk New College, Ipswich
College of West Anglia, Norfolk
Shrewsbury College, Shrewsbury

South West England Regional Heat, 23 January 2010
City of Bristol College, Bristol
Newbury College, Berkshire
Carmarthenshire College, South Wales

The five regional winners will also be invited to take part in the live final at Hotelympia in London on 3rd March.

Martin Bates, chief executive officer of the Craft Guild of Chefs said: "The Craft Guild of Chefs are delighted to be involved with the organising of this year's challenge. This is an ideal opportunity for colleges to enter teams of young chefs and for those young-guns to build their confidence and skills through competition. If the paper entries are anything to go by the regional cook-offs are going to be tough to mark for the teams of judges from The Craft Guild of Chefs and Brakes development chefs as well as our colleagues the Scottish Federation of Chefs."

Words: Clare Riley

« Back to previous page