Adam Smith wins Bocuse d'Or National Selection

Adam Smith, head chef at the Devonshire Arms hotel in Yorkshire, has taken first place in the Bocuse d'Or National Selection at Hotelympia.

Steve Love, chef patron at Loves Restaurant in Birmingham, was awarded second place, following a tense one and half hour cook off on Monday night.

Current candidate Adam Bennett, head chef at the Cross in Kenilworth, will compete at Bocuse d'Or Europe in Stockholm next week. If he secures a top 12 position, both Smith and Love will have the chance to work alongside Bennett as he prepares for Lyon in 2015.

Armand Sablon, head chef at Ten Restaurant at Cafe Royal and Rajkumar Holuss from the Ritz also competed in what the judges described as a very close final.

John Williams, chair of the Bocuse d'Or UK team, 2001 candidate and executive chef at the Ritz, led the judges, which included chef restaurateur Andreas Antona, Compass Group culinary director Nick Vadis, and Simon Hulstone, chef proprietor of the Elephant restaurant and brasserie and UK candidate 2009 and 2013.

Commenting on the performance of the chefs involved, Williams said that every candidate demonstrated excellent technical and culinary skills in very different ways.

"The standard today was excellent and congratulations to everyone who took part. We had some incredible talent competing today and our task of selecting the winner was not easy," he said

"So much can happen between now and 2017, which is why we've decided to take two chefs on the journey. We are very excited about the UK's prospects with both Adam and Steve on board."

The chefs had one and a half hours to prepare, cook and present three different hot garnishes, five portions of each suitable for decorating a chicken ballotine.

In the style of the Bocuse d'Or, each entry was presented on a silver flat provided by Heritage Silverware, which also supplied the silver for Adam Bennett's award winning meat platter in 2013.

Roux Scholar and former Acorn winner Smith was presented with the Bocuse d'Or UK trophy, donated by University College Birmingham, and a Villeroy & Boch winner's plate.

He said he was thrilled to have won at the Bocuse d'Or UK selection event: "It was a tough afternoon with very strong competition from the other contestants.

"I believe that having taken part as a commis on two separate occasions with both Simon Hulstone and Andre Garrett, I already had an idea of the style, standards, expectations and commitment of taking part, which I think is what helped me with the final result."

Love, also a Roux Scholar and former National Chef of the Year winner, won a trip to the Bocuse d'Or Europe in Stockholm next week, provided by competition sponsor Nestlé Professional.