Yorkshire chef Tom Heywood is through to the semi-finals of a prestigious culinary competition, National Chef of the Year.
The Craft Guild of Chefs has unveiled the forty talented chefs who have made the top spots in the first round of the National Chef of the Year and Tom, chef owner of Pignut in Helmsley, is one of them.
It’s the 31-year-old’s first time entering any competition and he’s “incredibly happy” to have made it to the semi-finals.
He said: “It’s the first competition I’ve ever entered so it’s amazing to get through to the semi-finals. I’m really excited and looking forward to the next stages.
“It means a lot to myself but also to the business and it allows me to showcase what we do. National Chef of the Year is a really prestigious competition, and it would be amazing to be recognised among the previous winners who are some of the best chefs in the UK.”
Ten finalists will be announced on Monday, July 29 and the National Chef Of The Year cook-offs will take place on Tuesday, October 8 at the University of West London. A premiere style awards celebration will take place at the Hippodrome Casino that same evening.
The judges have praised the overall standard of entries, in particular for the “impressive level of chocolate desserts this year”. Other themes spotted by the judges included a strong focus on provenance, sourcing, and food waste. Judges were inspired by reading the many stories about why the dish was chosen or how it represents the chef.
Matt Abé, chef patron at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, said: “In my first year as Chair of judges, I have loved seeing and scoring every single dish put forward by the competitors. It’s an honour to lead the judging team for such a prestigious culinary title.
“Generally, the standard has been very strong, and we already know that whittling them down from 40 to ten is going to be a challenge. We’re hoping to see chefs in the semi-final really focus on telling their personal story so we as judges can understand the creative thinking behind dishes.”
The National Chef of The Year competition has been running for three decades with previous winners including Gordon Ramsay.
