Chef of the Year set to become annual event
CHEFS' skills are set to be stretched to the limit in the revamped National Chef of the Year competition.
Instead of taking place every two years, the event will now be held every year, with the entire competition - from regional heats through to the cook-off - happening in less than a week.
The annual contest, now sponsored by Van den Bergh Foodservice's new culinary brand, Garde d'Or, will take place in alternating years at either London's biennial catering show, Hotelympia, where in previous years the final cook-off has been staged, or at its sister show, Hospitality Week, at the NEC, Birmingham, which alternates with the London show. The first annual staging of the competition will take place next year at Hotelympia 2000.
There is no entry fee and, following a regional paper judging, 10 entrants from each region will be chosen to go forward to the semi-finals at Hotelympia. Contestants will be required to create a three-course menu using cod fillet, best end of lamb, and apples, respectively, as starter, main course and dessert.
The final will be held on the last day of the exhibition, with the winner and runners-up being announced at the celebration banquet and ball on the same evening. The winner will receive £6,000, second place will be awarded £1,500, while the third-placed chef will go home with £500.
For an entry form, contact Caroline Scoular at Garde d'Or Chef of the Year, Clark & Taylor, 7 Holyrood Street, London SE1 2EL. Tel: 0171-717 7071. Closing date for entries is 1 September.
