Krzysztof Borowiak wins Cheshire heat of the North West Young Chef of the Year competition

Krzysztof Borowiak from YU Alderley Edge was crowned champion of the North West Young Chef of the Year competition at the Chesire heat on Thursday, 7 April.

The 22-year-old will now join Ryan Lee, the winner of the Cumbria heat, in the final of the competition after fighting of stiff competition from fellow contenders James Higgins, Charlie Mcgowan and Christopher Machin.

Krzysztof said: “I am so happy I have won, I literally had no idea. I knew I was extremely prepared but I didn’t actually expect to win. I really enjoyed planning my menu and tried to take everything I’ve learnt about food in Poland and put a Chinese infusion twist on it to represent what I do at YU Alderley Edge. I don’t want to over plan for the final, but I know what preparation I need to do in order to have a good chance of winning. I am probably most inspired now by Victor Yu, as I have learnt so much by working in his restaurant.’

Krzysztof’s winning menu consisted of a locally sourced scallops accompanied by baby squids and vegetables from local Farm Shops including cucumbers, onions and herbs. He then went on to contrive Venison with Beef Shank accompanied by locally sourced fruit and vegetables; potatoes, onions, pumpkins, cabbage, spring onions, carrots, celery, pears and herbs. He finished the menu off with a dessert of Delamere dairy goat's milk, spreadable goat's cheese with locally sourced fruits and flowers, rhubarb, raspberries, viola flowers and elderflower cordial.

Judges on the day were; Chairman of Judges Brian Mellor, Group Executive Chef for Nelson Hotels Paul Prescott and Business Development Chef Jonathan Harvey-Barnes.

Jonathan Harvey-Barnes said: “Krzysztof’s technically excellent in the kitchen and the presentation of his dishes were second to none. It was also really interesting to see what he did with using seasonal produce but within Chinese cuisine.”

The young chef was joined on the day by the general manager of YU Alderley Edge, Kostas Miliotis.

Kostas said: “I am so so proud of Krzysztof, he has worked so hard and it’s paid off.”

The competition, sponsored by Essential Cuisine and CHR, now gives Krzysztof the opportunity to to attend a master class with an acclaimed chef to hone skills with the industry’s best, before going on to compete against the other regional winners in the final of North West Young Chef Competition, which will be held at Manchester College on Tuesday, 10 May 2016.

Find out more about the North West Young Chef of the Year competition here: www.essentialcuisine.com/north-west-young-chef-competition/