Craft Guild of Chefs' Graduate Awards finalists announced

Twelve chefs will be heading to the final of the Craft Guild of Chefs' Graduate Awards 2023 after kitchen and pastry heats took place in Watford and Sheffield last week.

In the kitchen heats, the chefs had to complete a paper exam where the questions related to both classical and modern cookery. For the fishmongery challenge, candidates prepared two whole butterflied sardines filled with a fennel fish mousse, whilst in butchery they had to prepare a whole duck. The chefs were then asked to cook an amuse/appetizer using potatoes. The next challenge was to create a starter using the sardines along with ingredients of their choice, providing the total cost of the dish was no more than £1.50 per cover.

The chefs were also given a mystery basket and tasked with creating a main course. The final challenge was to serve up an apple tart tatin with sauce anglaise, following a recipe created by Andrew Ditchfield from the House of Commons.

In the Pastry Award, the semi-finalists were asked to create plant-based chocolate truffles, six sweet verrines which would be suitable for a dessert buffet, and sweet and savoury choux buns. Marks were also awarded for work processes including health and safety and wastage. The pastry chefs also submitted a portfolio of their work.

Taking a place in the kitchen semi-final will be:

• Jake Mills, Studio Frantzen
• Matthew Mark Crane, The Royal Airforce Club
• Nathan Cooper, Goldman Sachs, BaxterStorey
• Zach Colburn, House of Commons
• Chloe Williamson, Prestwold Hall
• Georgia Hackett, City of Liverpool College
• Joel Barton, The Monarch Theatre

The pastry finalists for 2023 are:

• Tara Pasotti, Pennyhill Park
• Jack Kirby, Lygon Arms Hotel
• Charlotte Vicars, One Aldwych Hotel
• Paige Hill, Penton Bridge Inn
• Hoi Yan Tam, Sofitel London St James

The finalists will now head on a culinary tour of Suffolk for this year’s mentoring trip. The final exam will take place at the University of West London on Friday 1 September and this year’s Graduate Awards Achievers will be revealed on Monday, 11 September at an exclusive awards ceremony in London.

You may also be interested in…