Girls triumph in YCYW contest

The success of female competitors was the striking image from the 2009 Young Chef Young Waiter awards just announced.

Rose Greene from Le Champignon Sauvage was the leading chef to emerge from the competition, while Sarah Cooper of The Ledbury came out on top from among the waiters.

But their achievements were reflected in the performance of the female contingent generally. Three of the eight chefs in the final were girls, and the same number made the final round in the waiter section of the competition.

But two of the top three in each category were female, with Jenny Thoden of The Church Green taking second spot in the chef final ahead of Shaun Dickens od L'Ortolan.

Julie Doig from Gordon Ramsay at Claridges was third in the waiter final, with Peter Saunders of Northcote taking second place.

The final eight chefs and waiters competed at Westminster Kingsway College on October 6th and the decision of the judges was announced at an awards dinner held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London later the same day.

The 2009 Young Chef Young Waiter event was the 25th, a milestone that also marked the first time all those taking part were not even born when the inaugural competition was held because competitors must be under 25.

The national final involved chefs preparing a three-course meal for six from a mystery basket of ingredients. The waiters were each paired with a chef whose meal they served to specially invited lunch guests.

The winner of each category received £2,000, a three-day culinary course at the University of Alma in Italy and a work experience opportunity at Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck restaurant in Bray.

In addition film director and restaurant writer Michael Winner, who presented the awards, pledged to personally add £1,000 to the prize money for winners Rose and Sarah.

The final line-up of chefs (in alphabetical order) was:

Shaun Dickens, L'Ortolan – 3rd
Rose Greene, Le Champignon Sauvage – 1st
Nicholas Hill, The Ledbury
Lahiru Jayasekara, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
Andrew McFadden, Pied a Terre
Mark Stinchcombe, Lucknam ParkJenny Thoden, The Church Green – 2nd
Eliza Thomas, Jackson Gilmour

The final line-up of waiters (in alphabetical order) was:

Matthew Balman, Gidleigh Park
Daniel Campbell, Number One Restaurant
Sarah Cooper, The Ledbury – 1st
Julie Doig, Gordon Ramsay at Claridges – 3rd
Marco Fusato, The Ritz Hotel
Catherine Hudson, The Longridge Restaurant
Harald Prock, Mosimann's Dining Club
Peter Saunders, Northcote – 2nd

Words: David Foad

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