12th April 2013
Winter 2011: Going for gold
With the eyes of the world on the competitors at the global skills event WorldSkills held at London’s ExCeL in October, Team UK put on an exceptional performance.
Pitting your culinary skills against some of the best young talent worldwide is no easy feat, but chef Ben Murphy from London was rewarded for his outstanding performance at WorldSkills 2011 with a gold for cooking.
The 20 year old commis, who works for legendary chef Pierre Koffmann at Koffmann’s at The Berkeley in nightsbridge, was one of Team UK’s hospitality competitors.
The others were Stefan Howells, 21, who works at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, and Wojciech Pastor, 20, who works for The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, and both were awarded Medallions for Excellence in the confectionery/pastry chef and restaurant service categories respectively.
The biennial competition saw Team UK compete against almost 1,000 competitors from 52 countries/regions in 46 categories, and was watched by more than 200,000 visitors.
The winning trio’s outstanding performance in the hospitality categories was part of Team UK’s total medal wins of five gold, two silver, six bronze and 12 Medallions for Excellence, which were presented at a special awards ceremony at the O2 Arena.
“It is an amazing feeling to be crowned the best in the world at cooking,” says Murphy. “Standing on the podium receiving my medal in front of a packed venue at the 02 Arena is an experience I will never forget. This is what I’ve been training for all this time, and I am just so pleased I’ve been able to make my family, friends, training manager and all those who have supported me along the way, so proud.
“Just as importantly, I hope my success will inspire others to think about their careers and that I’ve managed to show everyone that there are options for them. I’d definitely say a career in cooking is very rewarding.”
Craft Guild vice president Steve Scuffell organised the back of house in the live kitchens as well as the ‘Experts’ dinner at the House of Commons. The Guild also presented all the experts front and back of house with a certificate recognising their attendance, judging expertise and participation in WorldSkills.
Guild members Yolande Stanley and Mike Godfrey were both experts at WorldSkills. Godfrey said that Murphy deservedly won through the many elimination stages to get to show what he could do on the two days set aside for the cooking competition. He had to produce four courses each day – starter, entrée, main and dessert – yet remained focused and determined throughout the contest.
Stanley was the chief expert in the confectionery/pastry chef category, where Howells’ artistic sculpture reflected the best times of the year, each piece representing a season, with its oval shaped sugarpiece replicating a window looking through to each of them.
Team UK, managed by the National Apprenticeship Service, was supported in its medal success by education foundation Edge and training and development partner Brathay Trust.
• For full results, visit www.worldskillslondon2011.com
The 20 year old commis, who works for legendary chef Pierre Koffmann at Koffmann’s at The Berkeley in nightsbridge, was one of Team UK’s hospitality competitors.
The others were Stefan Howells, 21, who works at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire, and Wojciech Pastor, 20, who works for The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, and both were awarded Medallions for Excellence in the confectionery/pastry chef and restaurant service categories respectively.
The biennial competition saw Team UK compete against almost 1,000 competitors from 52 countries/regions in 46 categories, and was watched by more than 200,000 visitors.
The winning trio’s outstanding performance in the hospitality categories was part of Team UK’s total medal wins of five gold, two silver, six bronze and 12 Medallions for Excellence, which were presented at a special awards ceremony at the O2 Arena.
“It is an amazing feeling to be crowned the best in the world at cooking,” says Murphy. “Standing on the podium receiving my medal in front of a packed venue at the 02 Arena is an experience I will never forget. This is what I’ve been training for all this time, and I am just so pleased I’ve been able to make my family, friends, training manager and all those who have supported me along the way, so proud.
“Just as importantly, I hope my success will inspire others to think about their careers and that I’ve managed to show everyone that there are options for them. I’d definitely say a career in cooking is very rewarding.”
Craft Guild vice president Steve Scuffell organised the back of house in the live kitchens as well as the ‘Experts’ dinner at the House of Commons. The Guild also presented all the experts front and back of house with a certificate recognising their attendance, judging expertise and participation in WorldSkills.
Guild members Yolande Stanley and Mike Godfrey were both experts at WorldSkills. Godfrey said that Murphy deservedly won through the many elimination stages to get to show what he could do on the two days set aside for the cooking competition. He had to produce four courses each day – starter, entrée, main and dessert – yet remained focused and determined throughout the contest.
Stanley was the chief expert in the confectionery/pastry chef category, where Howells’ artistic sculpture reflected the best times of the year, each piece representing a season, with its oval shaped sugarpiece replicating a window looking through to each of them.
Team UK, managed by the National Apprenticeship Service, was supported in its medal success by education foundation Edge and training and development partner Brathay Trust.
• For full results, visit www.worldskillslondon2011.com