Three compete for title of Booker's Best Young Chef
Three finalists have been taking part in a cook-off for the Booker's Best Young Chef contest, judged by leading chefs Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing.
The competition was held at Pétrus, London, where Wareing is chef-proprietor. The young chefs were competing for a cash prize of £1,000 and the opportunity to work alongside Ramsay for a week at his restaurant in Chelsea.
The finalists were: Lucy Hyder, 21, from the Bacchanalian restaurant, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; Steven Baker, 21, from the Swan, Ironbridge, Shropshire; and Scott Stephen, 17, from the Raemoir House hotel, Banchory, Aberdeenshire.
Their task was to cook a main course and dessert from a mystery box of ingredients, which they were given just 30 minutes before the start of the cook-off.
Hyder's finished dishes included marinated lamb with fondant potatoes, thyme and tomato oil; and vanilla and nectarine rice pudding with carpaccio of apples and honey ice-cream.
Baker created rack of lamb with sage and garlic crust, tomato and basil; and honey and ginger ice-cream with vanilla biscuits and nectarine coulis. Stephen produced noisettes of lamb with broccoli and chive pommes mousseline with tomatoes and balsamic emulsion; and individual nectarine and apple crumble with a vanilla sauce anglaise.
The winner of the title will be announced - along with the awards for, among others, best caterer, best restaurant and best hotel - at the Booker Prize for Excellence awards dinner at the London Hilton hotel, Park Lane, on 26 April.
