A cook with roots in France; two chefs keen to prove that second time really is luckiest; a first-time apprentice; an art school chef and a young man who took locality to new levels, adopting a beehive to provide the honey in his winning dessert.
The results are in and six regional finalists now remain, ready to do battle in Essential Cuisine’s North West Young Chef 2015.
Each finalist emerged victorious from hard fought regional cook-offs held across the North West of England in March and April. The six will now go head to head in the final, held at Manchester College on May 7th, creating three local and seasonal standout courses, in a bid to wow judges.
Alongside the kudos of being crowned the North West Young Chef of the Year, the eventual winner will receive £500 and automatically qualify for the semi-finals of The Young National Chef of the Year competition, where they will square off against some of the best young chefs in the country.
In the lead up to May 7th, the six finalists will also take part in an exclusive masterclass, shadowing chefs at The Midland Hotel, before sitting down to lunch at Simon Rogan’s restaurant, The French.
North West Young Chef Judge, Nigel Crane, commented: “Congratulations to our final six – having been a part of each regional cook-off I know how hard they have worked to get to this positon. We now have an exciting final in prospect. Before that, the masterclass should offer a real education and plenty of inspiration, standing them in good stead for the many challenges to come.”
The winners in full:
Leo Deglane, 21, chef de partie, Carden Park Hotel (Cheshire)
Arthur Quin, 19, chef de partie, Punchbowl Inn (Cumbria)
Rachel Prendergrast, 20, apprentice chef, Abode Hotel, Manchester (Greater Manchester)
Louise Williams, 20, pastry chef, The Tavern in Mold (Flintshire)
Daniel Heffy, 21, chef de partie, The Art School in Liverpool (Merseyside)
Cameron Norris, 21, chef de partie, Stanley House Hotel and Spa (Lancashire)
For further information on the next North West Young Chef of the Year competition, call Lucy on 01606 541490. There is also a Facebook page and you can follow events on Twitter @NWYoungChefComp.
