The Merseyside heat of the North West Young Chef Competition saw the first girl from 2016’s competition win on Tuesday 19th April at Wirral Met College.
Daniela Tucci aged 19 from The Art School Restaurant in Liverpool took on five other talented male chefs; Patrick McCarthy from Alma De Cuba, Harry Entwistle from the Fuel station, Alexander Prescott from The Lawns at Thornton Hall Hotel, Lewis Roberts from City Wine Bar and Richard Gregory from The Racquet Club. All six chefs presented high skill and determination within their dishes; however Daniela took the trophy due to the added precision, presentation and consistency shown throughout her menu.
When asked why she decided to enter the competition, the Merseyside Young Chef of the Year said ‘Paul Askew (owner of The Art School Restaurant) encourages one of his young chefs to enter each year and this year it was me! At work I am a pastry chef so I thought the competition would be a fantastic way for me to practice starter and main dishes using fish and meat.’ Not only did Daniela practice, she took the Merseyside heat by storm with her winning dishes.
Her menu consisted of Wards Local line caught dover sole baked fillet with white crab, tartar, organic cider sauce and Peter Jones watercress salad, followed by Callums Storeton Village lamb with liver, shoulder and cabbage parcel, Hooton new potatoes, Ormskirk heritage carrots and peas and she finished her delectable trio with a Formby rhubarb, hibiscus panna cotta, white chocolate crumb and stem ginger.
The competition, sponsored by Essential Cuisine and CHR, was judged on the day by Chairman of Judges – Brian Mellor, Business Development Chef for Essential Cuisine – Jon Harvey-Barnes and Anson Bolton Food Development Manager for J W Lees. All chefs were mightily impressed by Daniela’s menu, with Jon Harvey-Barnes adding ‘It was great to see how Daniela remained so calm under the pressure but still delivered great dishes. Her tartar of lemon sole starter was really delicious.’
On her win, Daniela stated ‘I am so happy to of won, I really didn’t know what to expect but it’s such a great feeling to win. Competing against five other men didn’t bother me as I am one of the only girls in the kitchen at work. Paul was really helpful when preparing for the competition as he assisted me in planning my menu and practicing over and over. For the final I want to push myself to practice further, I think I will produce similar dishes but hopefully make them even in better. I will take into consideration the season in which the final is held for my ingredients too.’
Daniela 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 10th May 2016.
For more information or photography from the North West Young Chef Competition, please contact Erin from Essential Cuisine on 01606 541490 or email [email protected]