These will be held at Sheffield College on Tuesday, June 18, and the University of West London on Tuesday, July 2, and Wednesday, July 3.

David Mulcahy, Craft Guild vice president and competition organiser, said the number of entries was a record for the competition and a healthy 10% increase on last year.

“Normally there are 40 semi-final places available, but due to the very high standard and higher marks achieved this year, this has been increased to 44,” he said.

“Everyone on the judging panel agreed that the overall quality of entries is getting better and better by the year and we are definitely going in the right direction. Recipe writing has improved markedly and the entry forms are more focused, partly because we have strived to better communicate what they should concentrate on in their entry: seasonality, provenance and sourcing, and making sure they have a well balanced menu.”

He said it was very encouraging to see more female chefs entering the competition, but he had hoped to see more chefs entering the Asian/Oriental and Rest of the World categories, which were introduced alongside Modern British/European in 2010 to broaden appeal.

“The Modern British/European category is still, overwhelmingly, the most popular category, perhaps predictably as it is what most chefs are cooking in their restaurants,” he said.

“However, ethnic cuisine is a huge market here in the UK and it would be fantastic to shine a light on chefs in this sector through the National Chef of the Year, and I’m considering more specific mentoring and workshop activity in these areas to encourage the talent out there.”

Eight chefs will be chosen to go forward to the live final at the Restaurant Show in London on Tuesday, October 8, and the winner will be announced at a high profile awards ceremony and honoured at a VIP dinner in the evening.

The 2013 semi-finalists are:
Sheffield – Heat 1 – Modern British/European
Jamie Park, junior sous chef, Historic House Hotels
Andrew Wright, junior sous chef, Mallory Court Hotel
Paul O’Malley, senior sous chef, The Butchers Shop Bar & Grill
Dez Turland, group development chef, Brend Hotels
Brian Canale, head chef, Heritage Portfolio
Nicholas Evans, head chef, Middlethorpe Hall Hotel
Adam Rasburn, sous chef, TM Catering
Richard Knights, head chef, Southwold Pier, Boardwalk Restaurant
Zoltan Szabo, head chef, Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow
Mark Stinchcombe, sous chef, Le Champignon Sauvage

London – Heat 2 – Asian/Oriental & Rest of the World
Sujan Sarkar, head chef, Automat
Imithiaz Kadar, executive chef, Wyndham Grand Chelsea Harbour
Premila Fernando, sous chef, Buddha Bar Knightsbridge
Diane Kay, development chef , Reynolds Catering Supplies
Joe McCafferty, head chef, Bone Daddies Flesh & Buns
Sauray Nath, head chef, Guglee Restaurant
Andrew Wong, chef, A. Wong
Ashwani Kumar, head chef, Mango Lounge
Saurabh Prabhakar, sous chef, Hilton Hotels
Mark Aust, head chef, Artizian

London – Heat 3 – Modern British/European
Ben Williams, head chef, Read’s Restaurant with Rooms
Russell Baterman, head chef, Colette’s Restaurant
Peter Pickering, junior sous chef, Café Royal
Scott Dineen, senior sous chef, BaxterStorey
Adam Thomason, head chef, Fullers Smith & Turner Plc
Alex Bond, sous chef, Auberge du Lac
Ian Boden, development chef, M&B Innovation Centre
Selin Kiazim, chef, The Kitchen Table
Hayden Groves, executive chef, BaxterStorey
Daniel Kerr, head chef, The Old Mill, Berkhamsted
Wayne Thomson, chef patron, No 9 Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon
David Bush, senior chef de partie, House of Commons

London – Heat 4 – Modern British/European
Leszek Karpinski, sous chef,  Compass Group
Paul Matthews, head chef, The Hunter S
Dan Towell, chef manager, Elior UK
Lahiru Jayasekara, senior sous chef, Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley
Keith Hooker, group chef (hospitality), Restaurant Associates
Matthew Thomson, head chef, Ribble Valley Inns
Kyle Jenkins, sous chef, La Trompette
Tony Stuart, head chef, Shearman & Sterling, Sodexo Prestige
Chris Golding, head chef, The Ampersand Hotel
Elisha Carter, head chef, Café Royal Hotel
Simon Webb, head chef, CH&Co
Allan Pickett, head chef, Plateau Restaurant