Royal Academy of Culinary Arts announces Awards of Excellence finalists

11 May 2017 by Katherine Price

The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts has announced the participants for the 2017 Annual Awards of Excellence (AAE).

The awards recognise the talent of young chefs, pastry chefs and waiters, with the aim of inspiring and encouraging them in their future career. More than 550 have achieved the AAE accolade since the launch of the awards in 1983.

Any number of candidates can achieve the award standard, with the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Young Chef, Young Pastry Chef or Young Waiter 2017 titles going to the candidates who have scored the highest marks in each category.

Chefs will be tested on food preparation and cookery tasks and must demonstrate that they can prepare a variety of dishes. Pastry chefs must show their ability at being able to work with different materials, while having an excellent grounding in baking and plated desserts.

Waiters will be examined on their knowledge and skills in a range of food and beverage service tasks, including product knowledge, technical service skills, interpersonal skills and teamwork.

The London service finals take place this month at the Connaught hotel and Le Gavroche, with the Scottish service final also taking place at the Gleneagles hotel. The kitchen and pastry finals take place next month at the University of West London.

Judges include honorary AAE president 2017 Jason Atherton, chef patron of the Social Company, and AAE chairman John Williams, executive chef at the Ritz London.

Joint chairmen of the kitchen are Martyn Nail, executive chef at Claridge's, and Adam Byatt, chef patron at Trinity; joint chairmen of pastry are Yolande Stanley, trainer at the Pastry Training Company, and pastry consultant Sarah Hartnett; and joint chairmen of service are Sergio Rebecchi, director of Serenata Hospitality, and John Cousins, director of the Food and Beverage Training Company.

The finalists are as follows:

KITCHEN FINALISTS
Olivia Catherine Burt, Fera at Claridge's
Charles Coulombeau, Gravetye Manor
Jonathan Ferguson, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles
Samuel King, the Ritz London
Henry Wadsworth, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Tom Waters, Perilla
Fergus Wilford, André Garrett at Cliveden

PASTRY FINALISTS
Harry Barber, Hakkasan
Nicholas Bentley, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Elena Bockshecker, Harrods
Olivia Bösch, Mosimann's
Marceau Gouret, Roux at the Landau
Alan Holloway, Claridge's
Charles Liets, Harrods
Mathilde Pilaete, Alfred Dunhill
Madeleine Thell, Harrods

SERVICE FINALISTS
Emma Burgess, Cromlix hotel
Lauren Chappell, Cromlix hotel
Graeme Cumine, L'Enclume
James Dainton, André Garrett at Cliveden
Lea Deliere, the French Table
Federico Dell'isola, the Lanesborough
Andrea Diolaiuti, the Ritz London
Lorelei Fruhauf, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Piers Gibson-Birch, Luton Hoo hotel
Karen Gruet, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Ellen Herslow, the Westbury hotel
Lewis Hunter, the Gleneagles hotel
Ross Hunter, the Gleneagles hotel
Rosanna Law, the Gleneagles hotel
Gary Lee, the Ritz London
Joao Luiz Gomes, André Garrett at Cliveden
Alessandro Marra, Alyn Williams at the Westbury
Samuel Melotti, the Greenhouse
Anais Niang, Little Ship Club
Stefanie Obermayer, the Gleneagles hotel
Rémi Orero, the Greenhouse
Natalie Pope, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Charlotte Poynton, the Three Chimneys
Simone Rizzo, the Ritz London
Giuseppe Scudiero, the Ritz London
Alba Serrano, the Bath Priory hotel
Elena Silveri, the Gleneagles hotel
Manvir Singh, the Gleneagles hotel
Antonella Sinisgallo, Roux at the Landau
Emma Smith, Trump Turnberry Resort
Alexander Sumerauer, the Ritz London
Gabriele Tarantola, the Ritz London
Larissa Varini, the Bath Priory hotel
Valerio Vita, Galvin at Windows
Thomas Wickens, the Berkeley hotel
Ellen Woodcock, Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms