The eight finalists got a viewing of the basket at a special 'mentors day' at Unilever Food Solutions' culinary innnovation centre in Leatherhead, Surrey, organised as part of the final preparations for the cook off at the Restaurant Show at Earls Court 2 in London on October 9. They will now have to choose their ingredients from this seasonal selection, complete an order form and return it to the competition organisers within the next seven days. Craft Guild vice president and NCOTY organiser David Mulcahy said they had put together the most exciting selection of ingredients to date. "The range is excellent and will appeal to chefs who love to work with great ingredients and create innovative dishes," he said. "High welfare game and meat in season, sustainable fish and seafood and sourcing fruit and vegetables will bring out the best in our chefs on the day. "The idea of using the basket as an order form is to encourage the chefs to create a menu where they make the best use of ingredients on offer, show good skills in menu creation, as well as reducing wastage, as they are only required to order what they need," he explained. "Competitors will incur penalty points for late return of entry forms and will be heavily penalised for over ordering and wastage at the final." Among those impressed by the mystery basket was Philip Howard, chef patron of London's The Square restaurant and this year's chairman of judges. "It is exciting, thought-provoking and contains beautiful ingredients," he said. "The finalists are extremely fortunate to have such a selection to choose from and I look forward to the end result on the day." Suppliers were invited to the mentoring day to showcase ingredients in a farmers' market-style exhibition, while this year's finalists were invited to a presentation on the competition, with key note speeches and words of wisdom from organisers, chef judges, past competitors and sponsors. They also attended a workshop on desserts and waterbaths. In the final they will be tasked with preparing a well thought out menu, paying attention to authenticity, sourcing, seasonality, timing and wastage, while creating maximum flavour, texture, balance and style. The finalists: Paul Dunstane – Restaurant Associates Justin Galea – Turnberry Hotel Hayden Groves – BaxterStorey John Howie – Sodexo Prestige Joe McCafferty – Chrysan Restaurant Paul Matthews – The Hunter S Restaurant Alyn Williams – Alyn Williams At The Westbury Andrew Wright – Restaurant 23