Recruitment specialist Blue Arrow, which introduced the competition for the first time last year, staged this year’s semi-finals at the Underground Cookery School in City Road, London, on August 7 that saw four chefs going forward to the final.

The finalists are:
Rebecca Allen, junior sous pastry chef at the Soho Hotel in London
Vanderson De Godoy, hospitality chef de partie at Mayer Brown for Lexington Catering
Freelance chef Craig Floate
Andrew Hymes, chef de partie at the Newcastle Marriott Hotel

Judges included Sudha Shankar Saha, chef patron at the Saffron Group; Allister Bishop, executive sous chef at Harrods; last year’s winner Richard Skinner from Artizian, and Eat Out and Cost Sector Catering food and drink editor Sheila Eggleston.

Saha said: “The standard of cookery on display at this year’s semi-final was once again of an exceptionally high standard.

“It was an extremely difficult decision to choose the finalists, but their dishes exceeded on the balance of flavour, seasonality, creativity, visual appearance and the technical skills involved. I look forward to seeing them all cook again in the final.”

Competition founder Charlotte Rush agreed that the standard of cooking and presentation was outstanding.

She said: “We were inundated with entries this year for the competition demonstrating how vibrant the marketplace is; there is a wealth of creative talent out there and the industry is once again appealing as a great sector to get into. We are very much looking forward to the final, and know it will be a tough competition.”

The final will be held in London on November 6 and the winner will become Blue Arrow’s resident chef and company ambassador, giving him or her the opportunity to cook for some of the UK’s top chefs, and will be rewarded with a gastro weekend getaway for two.

To see the profile and menu of the finalists, visit www.bluearrowchefworld.com