The heats will take place simultaneously in London and Birmingham on Tuesday 28th June where the young chefs will undertake a series of culinary challenges which must impress the examiners. For 2016, former National Chef of the Year, Russell Bateman will take the reins as Chair of Examiners and he will work with his team to find the chefs he thinks could make the grade this year.

To pass the Graduate Award final exam, chefs aged 23 and under must achieve a pass mark of 85% or above from a series of skills tests, a theory paper and a mystery basket.

Russell Bateman, former National Chef of the Year and chair of examiners, said “It was fantastic to see the number of entries rise this year and also see the wide range of establishments that chefs have come from.

"We’ve got talented chefs from Michelin starred restaurants to the House of Commons, and from colleges to a variety of contract caterers. It’s also great to see the incredibly talented list of mentors who will be helping their chefs over the coming months.”

This year saw the launch of the Pastry Graduate Award in which 8 chefs will be undertaking the first ever heat. Steve Munkley, founder and organiser of the Graduate Awards said “I am delighted that we’ve been able to introduce a Pastry Graduate Award, as this is an area which as an industry we should be promoting as much as possible to improve skills. It was great to see some of the leading pastry chefs in the UK helping to push this, and we are really looking forward to seeing who our first Pastry Graduates will be and wish them all good luck in the process.”

The final exam takes place in London on Tuesday 30th August, with the awards ceremony being held on Tuesday, 6th September 2016.

The finalists are:

Kitchen London Finalists

• Feroza Akhtar, The Landmark Hotel
• Ben Brooke, Galvin La Chapelle
• Erin Jackson Yates, Wiltons
• Jake Leach, The Ledbury
• Eleanor De Maria, Compass House
• Raymond Steplin, House of Commons
• Keiron McGarrigle, Westminster Kingsway College
• Maciey Rapalcz, Royal Garden Hotel
• Laural Taylor, Royal Garden Hotel
• Dominic Williamson, Restaurant 56
• Amber Francis, The Ritz
• Noah Morrison, Galvin La Chapelle

Kitchen Birmingham Finalists

• Louise Ellen Roberts, Lexington
• Laura Youngs, Feversham Arms Hotel
• Jordan Clark, Atholl Arms Hotel
• Louis Carey, Sodexo
• Ben Garnett-Sinclair, Lusso Catering
• Joshua Allen,The Woodford
• Lewis Kuciers, Black Bull
• Joseph Lloyd, Bodelwyddan Castle
• Aaron Middleton, Belmond Le Manor
• Dudley Pankhurst, Cunnighams Bistro
• Matthew Pryce , Haileybury College
• Jack Lively, Sodexo 

Pastry Heat in London

• Alexis Jiyoung, The Dorchester
• Rita Souto, Park Lane Hotel
• Sophie Buckmaster, Royal Garden Hotel
• Joanna Start, Jigsaw Bakery
• Fiona Bailey, The Dragon
• Sanjam Napal, Lowry Hotel
• Elizabeth McBride, Hix Soho
• Kacey Bignell, The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park