James Goodyear also from Belmond Le Manoir took second place and Spencer Metzger from The Ritz was awarded third place.

Selby’s menu of beef tartare, allums baby beetroots, mustard sorbet, followed by seared sable fish, parsley, lemon and caper dressing, pickled cockles and scraps, and for dessert chocolate fondant with pink grapefruit, jasmine tea ice cream and Grue de cacao, was deemed exceptional by the competition judges.

The other finalists included:
Julien Pickersgill, House of Commons, London
Josh Bingham, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxfordshire
April Lily Partridge, The Club at The Ivy, London
Claire Willett, Wyboston Lakes, Bedfordshire
Daniel Lee, Brooklands Hotel, Surrey

The candidates secured their place in the final at the competition heats held at Sheffield College and Le Cordon Bleu in London in June.

For the final, the candidates were asked to prepare a first course of their choice served hot or cold, a main course using black Alaskan cod supplied by Alaska Seafood accompanied by suitable vegetables and garnish and their own twist on a hot chocolate fondant using Cacao Barry Chocolate for dessert.

As well as the title, Selby wins the prestigious title of YNCOTY, the winner’s plate, £250 branded Churchill product and a block of Robert Welch knives.

UFS has also invited all eight finalists to the five-star exclusive venue, Lodge Goil in Scotland, to enjoy activities such as foraging, quad biking and culinary experiences.

Mark Sargeant, Young National Chef of the Year ambassador, was delighted with the quality of cooking and talent demonstrated by the young chefs: “The standard of young chefs in this competition is amazing and their raw hunger is incredible. Overall it’s the best quality that I’ve seen in this competition. Each menu was balanced, well thought out and seasonal.”

Craft Guild vice president and competition organiser, Steve Munkley, said: “Once again these young chefs have blown us away with their understanding, technical ability and approach to food. The cooking today was excellent and each and every one of them showed a determination and work ethic to suggest a very strong future ahead. I wish them all every success and look forward to seeing them compete in the senior competition in a few years time.”

UFS category marketing director Stefan Horsnell added: “This competition proves what amazing talent we have in our industry. These young chefs are not only setting future culinary standards, they’re setting the standards for right now.

“We support this competition year after year as we want to continue to help shape the careers of these young chefs at such an influential time.  Every year it gets bigger, better and more hotly contested. Congratulations to Luke for achieving a stunning combination of dishes. The bar has certainly been raised again for next year’s cream of the crop who get to compete in the final.”

Selby collected his award alongside National Chef of the Year 2014 winner Russell Bateman at an awards ceremony following the cook-off at the Restaurant Show on Tuesday, October 7.

For more information visit: www.craftguildofchefs.org or follow @TNCOTY #YNCOTY on Twitter.