Shipley takes Nestlé title

VICTORIA Shipley, senior chef de partie at the French restaurant at De Vere Hotels' the Belfry in Wishaw, has been named the Midland Association of Chefs' Nestlé Young Chef of the Year.

Shipley beat nine other finalists, all aged under 23 and selected from submissions on paper, at a cook-off at the Belfry. Her winning menu consisted of smoked and fresh salmon with leek and mustard mash and truckle Cheddar sauce; cassoulet of pork and duckling with white haricot beans, glazed carrots and broad beans; and poached tamarillos with honey and ginger ice-cream and a biscuit curl.

Along with runners-up Glyn Purnell of Simpsons restaurant, Kenilworth, and Sean Kyle of Restaurant Gilmore, Birmingham, Shipley will now take an all-expenses-paid work-experience trip to Michelin-starred restaurants in Lyon, France, as a prize.