Six of the
best young chefs in Sussex will compete in a ‘MasterChef’ style cook off at the
Amex Stadium on 29 October, to decide who will win the hotly contended Sussex
Young Chef of the Year award, sponsored by Sodexo Prestige, as part of the
Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2013/14.
The six
shortlisted chefs have been selected by public vote and will have to prepare
and produce a full three-course menu based on local and seasonal ingredients in
only 90 minutes. Malcolm Emery, Executive
Chef and David
Mulcahy, Craft & Food Development Director at Sodexo Prestige will be heading
up the judging panel and they will be looking for innovation and an appreciation
of all things local in the six menus that are created for this final stage in
the competition.
Representing East Sussex is Nick Bennet from The
Curlew Restaurant in Bodium, Adam Gibbs from The Coach and Horses in Danehill
and Perry Foord from Deans Place Hotel in Alfriston; from West Sussex there is
Ricky Weston from South Lodge Hotel in Lower Beeding and from Brighton & Hove
there is Joseph Otway from the Ginger Pig and James McGarry from L’Église.
Twenty five year old, Nick Bennet from the Curlew
Restaurant started his working life as a pot washer and became inspired by the
complicated process that cooking requires. Nick is one of the youngest serving
Sous Chefs working in a Michelin starred restaurant in the UK and has ambitions
to win a Michelin star of his own. Nick’s manager and owner of The Curlew, Mark
Colley, describes Nick as having “boundless energy and enthusiasm for ever
evolving menus and shows a level of experience beyond his years.”
Adam Gibbs from the Coach and Horses discovered his
love of cooking at the tender age of 14 when he started working in kitchens. The
21 year old has worked at The Coach and Horses for five years and has aspirations
to become a well-known chef with his own restaurant one day. He is a promising young chef with a great determination
to succeed, which is matched by his natural creative flair and an affinity with
the use of local produce.
Inspired by the cooking of his grandmother, 20 year
old Perry Foord from Deans Place Hotel has always known he wanted to pursue a
career as a chef. He would like to work
in London one day and wants to produce food to the highest possible standard in
order to reach his goal of a Michelin Star. His manager describes Perry as
having “a natural ability, extremely hard working, attentive and enthusiastic. He is always looking to improve and learn, he
works very well under pressure and has excellent presentation skills.”
Recognising his creative talents at a young age, 21
year old Ricky Weston quickly became addicted to learning new ways of cooking
and presenting food. Described by his
head chef as “incredibly driven, studious and ambitious, Ricky’s greatest
strength is his eye for detail and willingness to perfect his skills.” He has a great understanding of the food
seasons and is passionate about using local produce, often creating dishes
using fruit and vegetables grown in South Lodge’s walled kitchen garden.
Twenty three year old Joseph Otway from the Ginger
Pig has already had some amazing experiences during his career including
working in South Africa and he is hungry to perfect the skills of fine dining
cuisine. He is an ambitious young chef
who one day aspires to work for a chef who holds multiple Michelin Stars or to
hold a star himself. Joseph is
passionate about using quality local ingredients and learning new techniques to
perfect the consistency of his cooking.
Twenty five year old James McGarry from L’Église
restaurant was inspired to become a chef by his great grandmother who was a
fantastic baker and chef. He loved
experimenting with food from a young age so becoming a chef was the perfect way
to channel his creative personality. James loves working with quality local
ingredients and he has enjoyed working with chefs from all over the world,
taking inspiration from them along the way. Head chef and owner of L’Église,
Jean Christophe Martin, describes James as “a very talented young chef who has
an amazingly creative mind, constantly thinking of new dishes and ideas.”
Other
categories in these sought-after awards include best Sussex eating experience,
food producer, drink producer, farmer, food/farm shop, butcher and farmers
market. Finalists will be announced in
November and the winners and runners up will be revealed at the ‘Sussex foodie
event of the year’, the Sussex Food & Drink Awards Banquet, at the Amex
Stadium on 30th January 2014, hosted by patron of the
awards Sally Gunnell and Danny Pike from BBC Sussex. Tickets for the superb, seven course Sussex
feast and awards ceremony are now on sale. To find out more visit www.sussexfoodawards.biz
Image shows current Sussex Young Chef of the Year, Jimmy Gray from Jeremy's at Borde Hill
