Michael Burgess wins Shropshire heat of the North West Young Chef of the Year competition

Michael Burgess was crowned champion of the Shropshire heat of the North West Young Chef of the Year competition on Wednesday, 13 April.

Seventeen year old Michael, from Albright Hussey Manor Hotel will join Cumbria's champion, Ryan Lee and Cheshire's winner, Krzysztof Borowiak at the final in May after fending off competition from fellow contestants on the day, Georgina Gurney and William Davies.

Speaking about his win, Michael said: “To be honest I’m in complete shock, everyone competing was in with a good chance so I really didn’t expect it to be me. I’m so happy though! The only other competition I have competed in is one held by Shrewsbury Town – and I did get through to the final but disappointingly didn’t win. This has definitely made up for it!"

Michael Burgess’ winning menu consisted of Ironbridge blue, beetroot and pickled sugar snaps followed by a main course of pot roast venison, celeriac and boulangere and completed the winning trio with dessert; Rhubarb, crème fraiche and pimhill crumble.

Judges on the day were Chairman of Judges Brian Mellor and Business Development Chef Robin Dudley. Both of which were equally impressed by the high standard of Michael's dishes.

Robin Dudley said: “I was particularly impressed with Michael’s dessert, the flavour worked incredibly well. The overall standard was very high but there could only be one winner”

Michael will now go on 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.

Commenting on the competition, Michael said: “I found out about the competition through college so I thought I would give it a go. Once I’d applied I did lots of preparation and research, for example; I went down to my local farm shop to see what foods were in season and put this information into practice at work by seeing which elements would work.”

The competition, sponsored by Essential Cuisine and CHR, looks for chefs under the age of 23 to cook a 3 course meal for two featuring local and seasonal produce. For the first time in 14 years since the competition began, the search was extended to Shropshire due to the county’s abundance of culinary talent.

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