MCA unveils 17 Master of Culinary Arts finalists

A total of 17 chefs and restaurant managers have made it through to the Master of Culinary Arts finals 2013.

The names have been revealed following a tough six-and-a-half-hour test for the chefs on Saturday at University College Birmingham.

The Restaurant Management & Service Final took place at Le Gavroche on Saturday 21 September, and the Pastry Final at Westminster Kingsway College on Saturday 28 September.

The seventeen Finalists now face a two-week wait for the results which will be announced at a gala dinner at Claridge's on Thursday 31 October. The Finalists are:

CHEFS
William Best	Sous Chef	Wiltons Restaurant
David Bush	Senior Chef de Partie	House of Commons
Robin D'Souza	Senior Sous Chef	Le Meridien Piccadilly
Jeremy Ford	Chef Director	Restaurant Associates
Frederick Forster	Head Chef	The Boundary, Shoreditch
Jeff Galvin	Chef Patron	Galvin Restaurants
Raj Holuss	Sous Chef	The Ritz London
Steve Love	Chef Proprietor	Love's, Birmingham
PASTRY CHEFS
William Curley	Patissier Chocolatier	William Curley
Denis Drame	Executive Pastry Chef	Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa
Paul Williams	Senior Sous Chef Pastry	Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE
Mourad Ben Tekfa	Restaurant Director	Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Luigi Cagnin	Deputy Restaurant Manager	The Ritz London
Sergio Cappello	Restaurant Manager	The Travellers Club
David Galetti	Head Sommelier	Le Gavroche
Robert Rose	Restaurant Manager	Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road
Elaine Watson	Food & Beverage Support Services Manager	Gleneagles Hotel

The chef finalists had six and a half hours to prepare and present a whole poached turbot with three garnishes and a saddle of venison with three garnishes, each for eight covers and to be presented on a silver platter. The pastry chef finalists had to present a large centrepiece along a musical theatre theme then during the ten-hour examination they had to produce a small centrepiece inspired by their main piece; a Gateau St Honoré; lollipops; croissants and sweet pastries; and six portions of a plated dessert as designed for their entry to the competition. Restaurant management and service finalists were assessed in their preparation for and the service of a four-course meal together with an aperitif, four wines and a digestif, for a table of three covers and a table of four covers. The judging was overseen by chairman of the judges David Pitchford, proprietor, Reads restaurant with rooms. The chairmen of the individual categories are: Chairman of the Chefs: Idris Caldora MCA, Executive Chef, Chefs Adopt a School Chairmen of the Pastry Chefs: Michel Roux OBE MOF and Michael Nadell, chef patron, Nadell Patisserie Chairman of Restaurant Management and Service: Silvano Giraldin, Director, Le Gavroche