12th April 2013
Autumn 2009 - High flyers
Now in its seventh year, the Graduate Awards examinations continue to draw out the best performers in a challenging environment and give them encouragement to aspire for higher goals.
Two young chefs broke the 85% mark barrier at this year’s Graduate Award examinations with a fantastic performance in both the theory and practice tasks they were given in the final at Westminster Kingsway College on September 4.
Hyun You Im – or Honey as she likes to be called – from Thames Valley University and Dan Inniss-Fitzhugh, chef de partie at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons near Oxford, passed the ultimate test to become the 2009 Craft Guild of Chefs’ graduates. However it was Inniss-Fitzhugh who was the highest achiever with an amazing 87% score.
More than 200 industry colleagues attended the special presentation dinner on September 7 to witness the unveiling of the achievers. Held for the first time at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London, the eight finalists were put under the spotlight by Craft Guild vice president Steve Munkley, the force behind the awards, before the results were announced.
Munkley said standards were rising every year and both new graduates should be extremely proud. “It’s not about ticking boxes but showing all round great cooking skills and making the judging panel’s experience truly enjoyable. In the case of Honey and Dan, their consistency throughout the exam gave them a real edge.
The quality of Dan’s main dish using a mystery basket in particular was fantastic. He cooked wild sea bass with a butternut squash purée to absolute perfection, showing great understanding and taking a lot of time to make sure everything was hot and tasted good.
“Honey’s highlight had to be her banana flan and she ran away with the marks, scoring 29 out of 30 for her dish. The panel’s pastry expert Matt Owens was particularly impressed with the taste and texture, hence the outstanding mark.”
Launched in 2003 to formally recognise a young working chef’s culinary excellence, the Graduate Awards have become a must have addition to CVs as the exams test the knowledge and skills of chefs 23 years of age or under in a series of culinary challenges in a highly pressured environment. Those that take the test are carefully selected from across the industry for their promising flair and ability.
Munkley flagged up a long list of past achievers one of whom was the furthest away from the event – Natalie Wickham, now owner of her own restaurant in Australia.
Last year’s winner Selin Kiazim came on stage to reflect on the past year and the events that made it so memorable. She said she still remembered her experience at the Graduate Awards exams – “gruelling but it puts you through your paces from start to finish”. “I learnt lots of things taking part in the exams. I learnt that it is important to be confident as a chef.”
She said it was an amazing asset for her and good for her first few months at The Providores, where she works under the inspirational New Zealand chef Peter Gordon. “You also get to go on these amazing trips. First Luxembourg – a fantastic experience – just a day and a half because I had to come back early for a competition. But I was with a huge group and I made great contacts.
“The second trip was to Cornwall with James Knight of Mayfair. I had some great fish and the fishermen were fantastic – I really appreciated what they do. I still have one more trip to go on, which is Paris.”
Chairman of judges, McCormicks concept development chef Steve Love, said that this year he saw determined young chefs who worked very hard. There had been a record number of entries and to make it easier for all the graduates, regional finals were held on the same day, he added. This involved a theory paper and then cooking dishes such as a loin of pork, an omelette Arnold Bennett, a dish from a mystery basket and profiteroles.
Thames Valley University, University College of Birmingham and Westminster Kingsway College were again the bases for the contests where Craft Guild judges scored the students. The final’s judges included Love, Andrew Bennett, Alan Shipman and Peter Griffiths. Love says the competitors were much better this year and really delivered. Shipman said it was usual now for people to get fish in their kitchens already prepared, and he wanted to see more students increasing their skills with fish. “We saw some nice clean work. It was good to see such good standards from chefs coming into the industry.”
Griffiths said the exams were important to the industry and a big learning curve for the students. “It is good for their CVs and good for future employment. Standards were much stronger than last year. It was all round focused cooking.”
For the final there were racks of lamb and sea bass fillets to prepare, a classical dish, a mystery basket for a main course for four and a banana flan, which the chefs had to complete in three hours.
Craft Guild chairman Nick Vadis said the prizes for the top achievers were wonderful – being whisked to Villeroy & Boch in Luxembourg to see the china factory and eat in a top notch restaurant, James Knight’s trip to a Scottish fish farm, plus a year’s membership to the Guild, a chef’s jacket, Pommery champagne and chefs’ knives to name just a few. He recalled his time in Scotland on one of the trips and how good it was to see chefs sharing ideas and experiences.
Because of his top marks, Inniss-Fitzhugh received a special prize from sponsor Bel Cheese, which would include three nights in Paris for two, dinner at the renowned Joel Robuchon’s restaurant and a tour of the Bel factory.
Inniss-Fitzhugh was over the moon about the pass mark, especially as this was his first major competition. He has been at Le Manoir for four years starting as an apprentice but is now a chef de partie. He joined after learning his trade at Northampton College. Being at Le Manoir, he has two taskmasters in both Raymond Blanc and head chef Gary Jones “Where I am we have to really go into details. In everything we do the tiny things matter. It’s about paying attention to details.”
Jones was his mentor and as luck would have it both racks of lamb and sea bass are currently on the menu so it was something Inniss-Fitzhugh says he had a bit of practice on.
Love and Vadis who presented the awards also awarded the employer’s trophy for excellence in training. Two chefs’ great accounts of the support from their mentors caused a dilemma, so it was decided to give two awards. These went to Lisa Sutherland from the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel and Dez Turland from the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Hyun You Im – or Honey as she likes to be called – from Thames Valley University and Dan Inniss-Fitzhugh, chef de partie at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons near Oxford, passed the ultimate test to become the 2009 Craft Guild of Chefs’ graduates. However it was Inniss-Fitzhugh who was the highest achiever with an amazing 87% score.
More than 200 industry colleagues attended the special presentation dinner on September 7 to witness the unveiling of the achievers. Held for the first time at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London, the eight finalists were put under the spotlight by Craft Guild vice president Steve Munkley, the force behind the awards, before the results were announced.
Munkley said standards were rising every year and both new graduates should be extremely proud. “It’s not about ticking boxes but showing all round great cooking skills and making the judging panel’s experience truly enjoyable. In the case of Honey and Dan, their consistency throughout the exam gave them a real edge.
The quality of Dan’s main dish using a mystery basket in particular was fantastic. He cooked wild sea bass with a butternut squash purée to absolute perfection, showing great understanding and taking a lot of time to make sure everything was hot and tasted good.
“Honey’s highlight had to be her banana flan and she ran away with the marks, scoring 29 out of 30 for her dish. The panel’s pastry expert Matt Owens was particularly impressed with the taste and texture, hence the outstanding mark.”
Launched in 2003 to formally recognise a young working chef’s culinary excellence, the Graduate Awards have become a must have addition to CVs as the exams test the knowledge and skills of chefs 23 years of age or under in a series of culinary challenges in a highly pressured environment. Those that take the test are carefully selected from across the industry for their promising flair and ability.
Munkley flagged up a long list of past achievers one of whom was the furthest away from the event – Natalie Wickham, now owner of her own restaurant in Australia.
Last year’s winner Selin Kiazim came on stage to reflect on the past year and the events that made it so memorable. She said she still remembered her experience at the Graduate Awards exams – “gruelling but it puts you through your paces from start to finish”. “I learnt lots of things taking part in the exams. I learnt that it is important to be confident as a chef.”
She said it was an amazing asset for her and good for her first few months at The Providores, where she works under the inspirational New Zealand chef Peter Gordon. “You also get to go on these amazing trips. First Luxembourg – a fantastic experience – just a day and a half because I had to come back early for a competition. But I was with a huge group and I made great contacts.
“The second trip was to Cornwall with James Knight of Mayfair. I had some great fish and the fishermen were fantastic – I really appreciated what they do. I still have one more trip to go on, which is Paris.”
Chairman of judges, McCormicks concept development chef Steve Love, said that this year he saw determined young chefs who worked very hard. There had been a record number of entries and to make it easier for all the graduates, regional finals were held on the same day, he added. This involved a theory paper and then cooking dishes such as a loin of pork, an omelette Arnold Bennett, a dish from a mystery basket and profiteroles.
Thames Valley University, University College of Birmingham and Westminster Kingsway College were again the bases for the contests where Craft Guild judges scored the students. The final’s judges included Love, Andrew Bennett, Alan Shipman and Peter Griffiths. Love says the competitors were much better this year and really delivered. Shipman said it was usual now for people to get fish in their kitchens already prepared, and he wanted to see more students increasing their skills with fish. “We saw some nice clean work. It was good to see such good standards from chefs coming into the industry.”
Griffiths said the exams were important to the industry and a big learning curve for the students. “It is good for their CVs and good for future employment. Standards were much stronger than last year. It was all round focused cooking.”
For the final there were racks of lamb and sea bass fillets to prepare, a classical dish, a mystery basket for a main course for four and a banana flan, which the chefs had to complete in three hours.
Craft Guild chairman Nick Vadis said the prizes for the top achievers were wonderful – being whisked to Villeroy & Boch in Luxembourg to see the china factory and eat in a top notch restaurant, James Knight’s trip to a Scottish fish farm, plus a year’s membership to the Guild, a chef’s jacket, Pommery champagne and chefs’ knives to name just a few. He recalled his time in Scotland on one of the trips and how good it was to see chefs sharing ideas and experiences.
Because of his top marks, Inniss-Fitzhugh received a special prize from sponsor Bel Cheese, which would include three nights in Paris for two, dinner at the renowned Joel Robuchon’s restaurant and a tour of the Bel factory.
Inniss-Fitzhugh was over the moon about the pass mark, especially as this was his first major competition. He has been at Le Manoir for four years starting as an apprentice but is now a chef de partie. He joined after learning his trade at Northampton College. Being at Le Manoir, he has two taskmasters in both Raymond Blanc and head chef Gary Jones “Where I am we have to really go into details. In everything we do the tiny things matter. It’s about paying attention to details.”
Jones was his mentor and as luck would have it both racks of lamb and sea bass are currently on the menu so it was something Inniss-Fitzhugh says he had a bit of practice on.
Love and Vadis who presented the awards also awarded the employer’s trophy for excellence in training. Two chefs’ great accounts of the support from their mentors caused a dilemma, so it was decided to give two awards. These went to Lisa Sutherland from the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel and Dez Turland from the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth, Cornwall.