National Seafood Chef of the Year competition welcomes talented young chefs from across the country for 26th year

The prestigious National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition which will take place at the Grimsby Institute on the 9th June is back and promises an exciting panel of judges with a strong field of talented young chefs.

Colleges from across the country, including Sunderland College, Scarborough TEC, Kendal College, Boston College, West London College, Salford College, City of Westminster College, University College Birmingham and Llandrillo College (Coleg Llandrillo), will be competing for the much-coveted title.

Throughout the competition, many prominent chefs have championed the competition and supported the young talent. This year we are delighted to welcome Steven Bennett of Healing Manor, known locally and nationally as The Lincolnshire Chef, James Mackenzie of the Michelin-starred Pipe and Glass and Gareth Bartram of the Michelin-starred Winteringham Fields to the esteemed panel of judges.

The competition is renowned across the seafood industry for the experience it gives to participants, providing the young chefs who compete with a platform to display their knowledge, skills and talent for preparing and cooking seafood from sustainable sources. It has continued to grow over the years, gaining support from a number of industry partners whilst building a reputation for excellence. This year’s competition is sponsored by Healing Manor, Young’s Seafood, Premier Seafoods, Pace, Corney and Barrow, Russums, Craft Guild of Chefs, and Gourmet Classic.

Paul Robinson, Grimsby Institute Associate Principal Commercial Enterprise said: “We are very proud to have three judges for this year who all have a significant link to the TEC Partnership as Steve, Gareth and James all trained in Further Education.

It has been amazing to attend each of the heats across the UK this year and witness the highest level of skills. In a time when the hospitality industry has so many opportunities for not just new recruits, but those building in progression, it’s very encouraging to see such passionate young people with such high standards and skills. It provides confidence that the hospitality industry within the UK has a strong future.

To find out more about the competition, please visit www.ukseafood.co.uk