Master of Culinary Arts semi-finalists announced

The Academy of Culinary Arts has announced the semi-finalists of the Master of Culinary Arts 2013. The semi-finalists include some great names from the UK culinary scene such as chocolatier William Curley and chef patron of Galvin Restaurants, Jeff Galvin. Jeff Galvin said: “I’m very excited. It’s one of those awards that’s probably the pinnacle of anybody’s career. I’m not counting my chickens though; there’s lots of challenges ahead but I’m looking forward to the challenge and I’m determined to do my best.” The full list of semi-finalists is: CHEFS Aurelie Altermaire Head Chef, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon William Best Sous Chef, Wiltons Restaurant David Bush Senior Chef de Partie, House of Commons Stephen Carter Head Chef, Boodles Piotr Czerwinski Head Chef, Aramark, JP Morgan Chase Robin D’Souza Senior Sous Chef, Le Meridien Brian Fantoni Executive Chef, The Westbury Hotel Jeremy Ford Chef Director, Restaurant Associates Frederick Forster Head Chef, The Boundary Jeff Galvin Chef Patron, Galvin Restaurants Martin Hollis Executive Chef, The Old Course Hotel Rajkumar Holuss Sous Chef, The Ritz London Franck Jeandon Culinary Consultant Andrew Jones Head Chef, Chamberlains Steve Love Chef Proprietor, Love’s Daniel Richardson Head Chef, Hartwell House Hotel   PASTRY CHEFS Gerard Chouet Pastry Chef, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie William Curley Patissier Chocolatier, William Curley Denis Drame Executive Pastry Chef, Pennyhill Park Hotel Graham Mairs Head of Pastry and Innovation, Morrisons Joakim Prat Executive Pastry Chef, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Paul Williams Senior Sous Chef Pastry, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons   RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE Dimitri Bellos Restaurant Manager, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley Mourad Ben Tekfa Restaurant Director, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons Luigi Cagnin Deputy Restaurant Manager, The Ritz London Sergio Cappello Restaurant Manager, The Travellers Club David Durack Brasserie General Manager, The Arts Club David Galetti Head Sommelier, Le Gavroche Dimitris Leivadas Restaurant Manager, The Fat Duck Pierre Rizet Mosser Restaurant Manager, The Montagu Arms Robert Rose Restaurant Manager, Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road Elaine Watson Food & Beverage Support Services Manager, Gleneagles Hotel The first semi-final for pastry chefs will take place place on Saturday 18^th May at Westminster Kingsway college. The semi-final for Restaurant management and Service will take place at The Connaught on June 3^rd. These will be followed by the chefs semi-finals on Tuesday 25^th and Wednesday 25^th June at the University of West London. The Master of Culinary Arts (MCA) is a four-yearly award run by the Academy of Culinary Arts (ACA) to find the UK’s top chefs, pastry chefs and restaurant managers. It is based on the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) and counts among its judges Michel Roux OBE, John Williams MBE and Brian Turner CBE.