MPs turn out to vote for Pub Chef of the Year
Over 100 MPs have sent in nominations for the new Pub Chef of the Year Award, created earlier this year by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group with Nestlé Professional.
The contest received its 100th nomination very recently, from Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton, Cheshire, who nominated the Rising Sun Country pub & dining in Scholar Green Village in Congleton.
All entries, which must be submitted by MPs, will be judged by an industry panel, including former Michelin-starred chef and TV presenter Paul Merrett. Six finalists will then go through to a cook-off event in London, with the eventual winner announced at an awards ceremony at the House of Commons on 23 February 2016.
BBPA chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "We are delighted that so many members of Parliament have engaged with the Pub Chef of the Year competition. It is testament to the quality of pub food today that so many chefs from all corners of the country have been put forward for this new award. I am looking forward to the next stage of the competition."
The BBPA estimates that pubs serve almost a billion meals a year, with food becoming ever more important in attracting customers. A national shortage of pub chefs also led the BBPA to launch the Pub Chef Passion initiative alongside the British Institute of Innkeeping earlier this year, in a bid to promote the benefits of a career as a pub chef.
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