At the cook off at Westminster Kingsway College, the finalists had to produce a gourmet menu in two hours using British seafood in the starter, loin of New Zealand venison in the main, and Comvita manuka honey and Bramley apples in the dessert. Her winning menu was an outstanding starter of roast sea bass with aioli crab croquette, mussel stew and winter vegetables – "perfectly seasoned and richly flavoured", according to the judges, followed by roast loin of venison, venison tortellini and foie gras foam; and a steamed manuka honey sponge, caramelised Bramley apple ice cream and nettle beignet for dessert. Second place went to Daniel Lee from Westminster Kingsway College, whose hot smoked Scottish lobster with shellfish emulsion, English cockles and seaweed foam starter was highly commended. Third place went to Connor Jones from the Saunton Sands Hotel in Devon, whose dessert of apple and salted butterscotch cannelloni with manuka honeycomb ice cream and yogurt panna cotta, was described by Peter Gordon, chef proprietor of The Providores and Tapa Room Restaurant and founder of the competition, as "cleverly assembled". Finalist Luke Orwin from the Pan Haggerty Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne was also praised for his seasonal main course, which included blue potato fondant, wild garlic, asparagus and Yorkshire rhubarb. At the awards ceremony in the penthouse suite of New Zealand House in London, Gordon said it was great to see young people trying different things and that there was a lot of 'molecular gastronomy' going on. "All the skills were fantastic – this competition never lets us down," he said. "The eight finalists did themselves proud on the day by producing some impressive menus. Dishes were very creative with a good use of secondary cuts of venison from the rib cooked on the bone through to liver and kidneys, along with other interesting ingredients such as foraged food and pulses. "The quality of the entries is a fantastic indication of how highly respected the competition is among tutors and employers around the UK in regards to the advancement of their junior staff and students." Craft Guild of Chefs vice president David Mulcahy said the finalists had produced work of an extremely high level. "Judges took a considerable time to deliberate on the eventual winners, a testament to the high calibre of this year's contestants. I've no doubt that our young winner will be a great ambassador for the competition when she travels to New Zealand to take up this once in a lifetime prize." Matthews said she was inspired to enter by fellow chef Ben Murphy, who won the competition in 2010. Murphy, who spoke of his culinary experiences in New Zealand at the awards ceremony, described them as "unbelievable", and sparked his run of competition victories. Both he and Matthews competed in WorldSkills last year where Murphy went on to win the coveted gold, and followed that up by winning the Spanish Young Chef of the Year title in January. This year's judging panel included: Peter Gordon, chef patron at The Providores and Tapa Room Restaurant; David Mulcahy, culinary director of Sodexo UK & Ireland; Anna Hansen, chef proprietor of The Modern Pantry; Sophie Wright, former winner and renowned chef; and Cristian Hossack, head chef at The Providores and Tapa Room Restaurant. Sponsors included: Air New Zealand, Dudson China, Comvita (manuka honey), Bleeding Heart Restaurant, Providores & Tapa Room, Trinity Hill Wines, New Zealand Society, NZ Trade & Enterprise, NZ Venison and Bramley Apples. The finalists Laura Daniels, Manchester College Connor Jones, Saunton Sands Hotel, Devon Daniel Lee, Westminster Kingsway College Louisa Matthews, Eton College Trung Nguyen, Westminster Kingsway College Luke Orwin, Pan Haggerty Restaurant, Newcastle Upon Tyne Joshua Saunders, Worcester College of Technology Thomas Sturrock, Kopapa Restaurant, London