National Seafood Chef of the Year

National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition Celebrates its 27th Year with Spectacular Finals and Esteemed Chef Judges.

The prestigious National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition returned for its 27th year, delivering an unforgettable event filled with culinary excellence, innovation, and celebration. This year’s competition concluded on Friday 7th June, with the Grand Final taking place at the Grimsby Institute.

Building on nearly three decades of showcasing the finest young talent in seafood cuisine, the National Seafood Chef of the Year continues to uphold its reputation as a cornerstone of the culinary calendar. This year, we were honoured to welcome a distinguished panel of celebrity judges, including Simon Hulstone, Steven Bennett, and Nikki Hawkins, who lent their expertise and passion to evaluate the outstanding efforts of the competitors.

Over the years, the competition has become renowned within the seafood industry for providing an invaluable platform for aspiring chefs to demonstrate their skills, creativity, and commitment to sustainable seafood practices. The event has grown in stature, thanks to the unwavering support of industry partners and sponsors, who share our vision of promoting excellence in seafood cookery.

This year’s competition was proudly sponsored by Young’s Seafood, Hilton Foods UK, Premier Seafoods, The Norwegian Seafood Council, Healing Manor, Fastnet Fish, and the Fishmongers Company. Their continued support ensures that the competition remains a beacon of inspiration for the next generation of chefs.

Paul Craft, Senior Director Commercial Development at Sofina Foods Europe, owner of Young’s Seafood, said: “We were delighted to be a part of this esteemed competition, which nurtures our future talent and recognises the very best in seafood cookery from across the UK. It’s been an honour to be headline sponsors of the competition since it first began 27 years ago. We always enjoy seeing our favourite seafood celebrated in such creative ways and cooked by the culinary stars of the future. Congratulations to the winners, finalists and everyone who took part in this year’s competition.”

The Grand Final saw teams from various Further Education colleges across the country, including Boston College, Scarborough TEC, Sunderland College, City College Norwich, Suffolk New College, Exeter College, University College Birmingham, Warrington & Vale Royal College, and Llandrillo College (Coleg Llandrillo), competing for the coveted title of National Seafood Chef of the Year. The title was ultimately awarded to the talented team from Exeter College.

Maria Turnbull-Kemp Group Vice Principal of Finance of TEC Partnership said: “This year, our competition has reached new heights. The number of entries has soared to an all-time high, reflecting the passion and dedication of our students from across the country. The creativity and innovation displayed by our participants have left us in awe. As we continue to grow our competition and expand the entrant criteria in 2025, to include all students in education, regardless of age, we hope to see more participants getting involved who are as passionate as seafood as we are. The opening of our new UK Seafood School is also incredibly exciting. The UK Seafood School will showcase the regional and UK Wide seafood industry, it will lead in raising awareness of the seafood industry in local schools and in particular relate to career opportunities in the sector, offer a wide variety of bespoke short courses that will be within the reach of the existing seafood industry, their clients such as UK retailers and food service businesses that buy fish.”