Head chef competes with own sous chef in YCYW semi-final

A sous chef will pit his culinary skills against those of his boss in one of the semi-finals of this year's Young Chef Young Waiter competition. Nick Seckington of the White Hart hotel in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, and his head chef, Fred Stanton, are drawn to compete in the first of this year's semis at Oxford Brookes University on 7 September.

The second semi-final will be held two days later at St Helen's College, Merseyside. There are 16 competitors from each category in each semi-final.

Also drawn in Seckington and Stanton's semi is the 2003 runner-up, Steven Allen, from Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's. Their waiter counterparts will test their mettle against last year's runner-up, Gaetan Morillon, from Morton's in London, who is having another tilt at the title.

Sixteen winners from each category will compete in a grand final in London on 4 October. The competition carries a cash prize of £2,000 and a week's study trip in Cuba for each winner.

For a full list of semi-finalists log on to www.caterer-online.com/news.