Yesterday at the Restaurant Show, ten chefs were cooking live for the Kikkoman Masters 2016 final.

Michael Wickham, sous chef at Royal Automobile Club, was selected as this year’s winner and receives the top prize of a ten-day trip to Japan.

He said: “I’m delighted! I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the Kikkoman Masters 2016 competition and to be chosen as the winner is brilliant. All the dishes on show today were of a very high standard so I knew the competition was going to be tough, but I’m really pleased to have won. A trip to Japan is a great prize and I can’t wait to experience the wonderful Japanese culture and cuisine.”

Paul O'Malley, head chef, Culcreuch Castle Hotel and Ollie Hay, head Chef at Nomura (RA),  were named runners-up this year. 

Kikkoman prides itself on being a versatile ingredient and the chefs proved this, demonstrating a variety of modern techniques and interesting flavour combinations.

Some used Kikkoman as a marinade or a glaze, whilst other opted to make an Asian-inspired broth. Some preferred a more traditional use and featured the sauce as a seasoning or flavouring but each was still a feast for the eyes.

Kikkoman UK Manager and Judge Bing-Yu Lee explained that this versatility comes from the soy sauce’s natural production process: “Not only saltiness but the umami comes from the fermentation process and that umami is versatile and can be used in any kind of dish."

Also judging the competition were last year’s winner Ben Champkin (L’Enclume), Michelin-starred chefs Simon Hulstone (The Elephant Restaurant, Torquay) and Jun Tanaka (The Ninth, London), Brian Turner CBE, editor of Restaurant Magazine, Stephan Chomka, Scott Hallsworth (Kurobuta, London) and David Mulcahy from Sodexo/The Craft Guild of Chefs.

David said: “Competitions like Kikkoman Masters are important because for some people it is part of the beginning of
competing. We've found this year that there's lots of new, young talent coming into the industry and by putting a competition like this on, where they can focus on a single ingredient that actually has a lot of history and a lot of qualities around it, they build ideas for menus that start to focus them as chefs.

"Then to go on to the public stage and to do that in front of an audience, in a kitchen where they've never been before, that starts to build them as a character as well. So they're hugely important for developing chefs.”

The judges were all very impressed with the diversity