Attila Szakacs named Master Chefs of Great Britain Game Chef of the Year 2026
Attila Szakacs of Crossbasket Castle has been named Master Chefs of Great Britain (MCGB) Game Chef of the Year 2026.
The chef won the title at a live final held at City of Glasgow College, beating five other finalists from across the UK with a partridge breast ballotine built around Scottish game and whole-animal cookery.
Six finalists cook off at City of Glasgow College
Six finalists competed in the cook-off at the Glasgow college, each judged on technical skill, creativity, and their respect for and understanding of the game they were working with.
Attila's plate was singled out for its presentation and for sticking closely to the competition brief.
A partridge breast ballotine with wild mushrooms and squash
Attila's winning dish was a partridge breast ballotine, served with seasonal wild mushrooms and squash. The chef built the plate around local Scottish game and whole-animal cookery, drawing on the country's produce and landscape for inspiration.
Attila Szakacs said: "It's been a great pleasure and experience, I'm proud to represent myself, and Crossbasket Castle in this competition."
Crossbasket Castle is a five-star hotel in a restored 17th-century castle in High Blantyre, near Glasgow, with its kitchen overseen by Michel Roux Jr, who has worked with the property since 2016.
The restaurant serves French-inspired Scottish cuisine built on locally sourced, seasonal produce, and the wider estate is in the middle of a £15 million expansion, adding a 40-bedroom hotel, spa and a new destination restaurant, Trocadero's.
Who were the judges for the final?
The judging panel was chaired by chefs with deep roots in Scottish fine dining.
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Stephen McLaughlin, head chef of the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, sat alongside Steven Doherty, the first British chef to hold three Michelin stars as head chef of Le Gavroche in the 1980s and now executive chef and consultant at Askham Hall and Hawkshead Brewery in Cumbria.
They were joined by Roberta Hall-McCarron of The Little Chartroom in Edinburgh, and by Darren Seggie, a winner of the Andrew Fairlie Scholarship.
All four judges praised the standard and innovation across the finalists' dishes, and the panel's own backgrounds reflect the calibre of game cookery MCGB set out to reward.
a trip to Venice among the prizes
For his win, Attila takes home £1,000 cash, a MCGB-branded set of Victorinox knives, and a three-day trip to Venice with Unox.
The prize package follows the same format MCGB used for its inaugural Game Chef of the Year title in 2025, when Callum Smart of The Little Chartroom won the George McIvor OBE Game Chef Trophy, £2,000, a stage with Mark Donald at Lalique Restaurant at The Glenturret, and a three-day gastronomic tour of Venice sponsored by Unox.
Master Chefs of Great Britain's Game Chef of the Year, one year on
Master Chefs of Great Britain is dedicated to culinary excellence and to supporting emerging talent, through masterclass demonstrations, learning opportunities and mentorship.
The organisation has reached more than 4,000 apprentice and student chefs across Scotland and northern England through its programme of masterclasses in Edinburgh, giving students access to world-class chefs and high-quality Scottish produce while promoting sustainability.
The Game Chef of the Year competition was created by MCGB chair George McIvor OBE and launched in 2025, when it recognised Callum Smart of The Little Chartroom as its first winner. Attila Szakacs becomes the second chef to hold the title, and the second in two years to carry it back to a kitchen in Scotland's central belt.
Both editions of the competition have used City of Glasgow College as their venue, with the college's hospitality department, home of previous MasterChef: The Professionals winner and Scotland's National Chef Gary Maclean, lending its kitchens to the live final. For MCGB, built around mentorship and masterclasses for students and apprentices, hosting the final at a teaching college keeps the competition rooted in the same pipeline of young chefs the organisation exists to support.
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