Seafish, the public body that assists the £10 billion UK seafood industry, supports the competition as it aims to find the UK’s best talent in the culinary sector.

The annual competition, now in its 17^th year, encourages people under the age of 25 who are enrolled in full time education or an apprenticeship to enter.

This year’s top nine teams have netted their place into the finals after progressing from regional playoffs. In the final, the young chefs will be given an invention test where a mystery seafood ingredient must be the hero of the plate.  

Teams making it into the final are: North Hertfordshire College, University of the West of London and Eastleigh College, teams from Newcastle, Sunderland and Kendal colleges, University College Birmingham, Salford College and Colleg Llandrillo.

Nikki Hawkins, trade events manager of Seafish, said: “The standard of cooking in this year’s heats has been exceptional, with each team impressing us with the culinary skill and creativity in their dishes.

“This competition is highly regarded in the seafood industry and offers ambitious young chefs the opportunity to demonstrate their ability and confidence in working with a range of sustainable seafood, and the chance to potentially boost their future careers.”

This year’s final judging panel includes Daniel Clifford, chef patron of two-Michelin starred Midsummer House restaurant, Cambridge, and two-time winner of BBC Two’s Great British Menu.

Clifford said: “I am delighted to have been asked to be a judge in this highly acclaimed competition and am very much looking forward to seeing what the finalists and aspiring chefs produce.”

The winning team will receive a Koppert Cress ‘Cressperience’ trip to Holland, a Robot Coupe Robot Cook food processor, £500 each, a £1,000 voucher for Russum’s catering equipment for their college, a cookbook, competition trophy, competition medals and prize certificates. All winning recipes will also feature on the Seafood Week 2019 website.