Finalists named for Gordon Ramsay Scholar

Five young chefs have been selected to take part in the grand final of the Gordon Ramsay Scholar 2001 competition, following a series of regional heats and the college final.

At the college final, held at Pétrus restaurant in London earlier this month, Eddy Rains, a student from Exeter College, was declared the winner. However, Paul Taylor from South Trafford College impressed the judges so much that competition founder Gordon Ramsay made an on-the-spot decision to award a prize for the runner-up and a place for Taylor in the grand final.

"The overall standard has been higher than I had anticipated," commented Ramsay. "The skill in the execution of the dishes, the subtle use of ingredients, and the refreshing simplicity in presentation of the wild salmon we supplied was fantastic. Each of the three regional finals produced an outright winner, but the college final was incredibly close-fought. I think the colleges are producing top-rate students and their lecturers should be proud of them."

At the grand final, which will be held on 19 September at Westminster Kingsway College, competitors will be asked to prepare, cook and present four portions of an amuse-gueule, main course and dessert from a box of mystery ingredients in two-and-a-half hours.

They will be competing in front of a panel of judges, including Chicago chef Charlie Trotter, as well as television cameras and a live audience for the final hour of cooking.

The finalists are: Gemma Blow, a 19-year-old chef de partie at London's Square; 22-year-old Leigh Myers, sous chef at Simply Heathcote's, Preston; Richard Bias, a 20-year-old chef de partie at the Mansion House hotel in Poole, Dorset; Eddy Rains, an 18-year-old student at Exeter College; and 19-year-old Paul Taylor from South Trafford College.

For more details visit www.ramsayscholar.com