12th April 2013
Winter 2011: Winning spirit
The Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year competitions for senior and young chefs once again set the Restaurant Show abuzz.
The cooking action was enthralling in the competition theatre at the Restaurant Show as, for the second time as an annual event, 16 chefs vied for the chance of becoming the 2011 National Chef of the Year and Young National Chef of the Year.
After taking on the challenge three times before, Frederick Forster, head chef at Nuovo Restaurant in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, demonstrated his determination, skills and nerve to bag the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2011 title at his fourth attempt.
His menu, style and execution of ingredients impressed the judges during the intense two hour cook off between the eight finalists. His winning dishes included sauté scallops with crab “Biegnet” and roasted breast of duck with braised thigh flavoured with smoked bacon.
Alyn Williams, chef patron at the recently opened Alyn Williams at The Westbury, and Hayden Groves, executive chef at Lloyds of London, Avenance, were first and second runners up respectively.
“It’s the fourth time I’ve entered and the third time I’ve made the finals,” says Forster. “To win this time around is simply something else. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and an immense feeling.
“I feel on top of the world and hope that by winning a title of this pedigree it will stand me in good stead for the future. I was up against some tremendous talent, which makes this victory even more special. I love cooking and it’s fantastic to have your skills recognised. I feel honoured.
“Who knows what the future will bring, but for now I’m delighted that my journey in the cookery world continues.”
Leading figures in the culinary world including Bruce Poole, Chris Galvin, Angela Hartnett, Atul Kochhar, Vivek Singh, Andrew Bennett, Gary Hunter, Mark Flanagan, Henry Brosi and Graham Hornigold, were on hand to judge the dishes cooked by the finalists.
David Mulcahy, competition organiser and vice president of the Craft Guild, admits they had a really tough time. The task began with 120 entries; then the field was whittled down from 40 contenders to the final eight following semifinals in Sheffield and London.
To prime the finalists for the big moment, there was for the first time a ‘mentors day’ (see panel page 9), where they received advice and guidance as well as a viewing of the choice of ingredients on offer for the final.
Chairman of judges was Andrew Bennett, executive chef at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London, who says the mentor day was a great addition and really got the competition going – “raising the level and making it very difficult for the judges”.
“All should be absolutely proud – it was creative and innovative stuff today,” he adds.
Mulcahy says many congratulations go to Frederick on his fabulous achievement, in what was a tremendous end to another fantastic National Chef of the Year contest.
“In fact, the standard of quality on display throughout the entire competition this year has been remarkable. “The dishes produced by the final eight were of such a high standard. Choosing a winner was never going to be easy, but all the judges were in agreement that Frederick created a winning menu from the original basket of ingredients. His menu was innovative, well planned and brilliantly executed on the day under enormous pressure.”
As well as the National Chef of the Year 2011 title, Forster received a prize worth in excess of £12,000 including an exclusive study trip to France, courtesy of Lockhart Catering Equipment, plus wine tasting in the acclaimed Hermitage region and dinner at a three starred Michelin restaurant.
Other prizes for the winner include a masterclass with renowned chef Marco Pierre White, courtesy of headline sponsor Knorr. Electrolux also provided Forster with the equipment from the competition theatre he used to prepare the winning dishes.
Young bloods
Showing an amazing level of skills, Charles Smith, junior sous chef at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, won the Craft Guild of Chefs Young National Chef of the Year 2011 title.
The competition is for 18-24 year old chefs who work in any sector of the industry but the selection of the finalists by the Craft Guild is by invitation only. In fact Smith was a late entry – invited to step in when another candidate had to drop out – and he proved to be a winner.
Runners up were Andrew Postlethwaite from the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal in second place, while Dimitar Angelkovski from the Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, took third place.
Mulcahy described the competition as a gruelling task but it produced a great calibre of cooking. The chefs, who came from a variety of places ranging from the Channel Islands to Ireland, had to be creative with raw prawns, rack of lamb and plums.
Craft Guild vice president Steve Munkley says he was proud to be chair of judges for the second year running and that there had been some outstanding dishes that would grace any table in London. The competition was invitation only and they could have refused to take part, he says, but no one did.
“Charles showed a great understanding for the ingredients he worked with on the day. He kept his composure all the way through the competition and his dishes reflected the skill sets that he has developed at such a young age.
After taking on the challenge three times before, Frederick Forster, head chef at Nuovo Restaurant in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, demonstrated his determination, skills and nerve to bag the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2011 title at his fourth attempt.
His menu, style and execution of ingredients impressed the judges during the intense two hour cook off between the eight finalists. His winning dishes included sauté scallops with crab “Biegnet” and roasted breast of duck with braised thigh flavoured with smoked bacon.
Alyn Williams, chef patron at the recently opened Alyn Williams at The Westbury, and Hayden Groves, executive chef at Lloyds of London, Avenance, were first and second runners up respectively.
“It’s the fourth time I’ve entered and the third time I’ve made the finals,” says Forster. “To win this time around is simply something else. It’s beyond my wildest dreams and an immense feeling.
“I feel on top of the world and hope that by winning a title of this pedigree it will stand me in good stead for the future. I was up against some tremendous talent, which makes this victory even more special. I love cooking and it’s fantastic to have your skills recognised. I feel honoured.
“Who knows what the future will bring, but for now I’m delighted that my journey in the cookery world continues.”
Leading figures in the culinary world including Bruce Poole, Chris Galvin, Angela Hartnett, Atul Kochhar, Vivek Singh, Andrew Bennett, Gary Hunter, Mark Flanagan, Henry Brosi and Graham Hornigold, were on hand to judge the dishes cooked by the finalists.
David Mulcahy, competition organiser and vice president of the Craft Guild, admits they had a really tough time. The task began with 120 entries; then the field was whittled down from 40 contenders to the final eight following semifinals in Sheffield and London.
To prime the finalists for the big moment, there was for the first time a ‘mentors day’ (see panel page 9), where they received advice and guidance as well as a viewing of the choice of ingredients on offer for the final.
Chairman of judges was Andrew Bennett, executive chef at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London, who says the mentor day was a great addition and really got the competition going – “raising the level and making it very difficult for the judges”.
“All should be absolutely proud – it was creative and innovative stuff today,” he adds.
Mulcahy says many congratulations go to Frederick on his fabulous achievement, in what was a tremendous end to another fantastic National Chef of the Year contest.
“In fact, the standard of quality on display throughout the entire competition this year has been remarkable. “The dishes produced by the final eight were of such a high standard. Choosing a winner was never going to be easy, but all the judges were in agreement that Frederick created a winning menu from the original basket of ingredients. His menu was innovative, well planned and brilliantly executed on the day under enormous pressure.”
As well as the National Chef of the Year 2011 title, Forster received a prize worth in excess of £12,000 including an exclusive study trip to France, courtesy of Lockhart Catering Equipment, plus wine tasting in the acclaimed Hermitage region and dinner at a three starred Michelin restaurant.
Other prizes for the winner include a masterclass with renowned chef Marco Pierre White, courtesy of headline sponsor Knorr. Electrolux also provided Forster with the equipment from the competition theatre he used to prepare the winning dishes.
Young bloods
Showing an amazing level of skills, Charles Smith, junior sous chef at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, won the Craft Guild of Chefs Young National Chef of the Year 2011 title.
The competition is for 18-24 year old chefs who work in any sector of the industry but the selection of the finalists by the Craft Guild is by invitation only. In fact Smith was a late entry – invited to step in when another candidate had to drop out – and he proved to be a winner.
Runners up were Andrew Postlethwaite from the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal in second place, while Dimitar Angelkovski from the Turnberry Resort in Ayrshire, took third place.
Mulcahy described the competition as a gruelling task but it produced a great calibre of cooking. The chefs, who came from a variety of places ranging from the Channel Islands to Ireland, had to be creative with raw prawns, rack of lamb and plums.
Craft Guild vice president Steve Munkley says he was proud to be chair of judges for the second year running and that there had been some outstanding dishes that would grace any table in London. The competition was invitation only and they could have refused to take part, he says, but no one did.
“Charles showed a great understanding for the ingredients he worked with on the day. He kept his composure all the way through the competition and his dishes reflected the skill sets that he has developed at such a young age.