This allows competitors more time to work on their menus. The Guild wanted to relieve some of the pressure chefs are feeling to complete their entries whilst ensuring that they do not miss out on this exciting and potentially once in a lifetime opportunity.

Chefs now have until midnight on Sunday 6th June 2021 to submit their entries at www.nationalchefoftheyear.com.

Vice-President of the Craft Guild of Chefs, David Mulcahy, said: “There’s never been a more exciting time to be part of this competition. Dining out is one of the activities the nation has missed most during the pandemic and so the spotlight is on our industry now more than ever before.

“This year’s brief, set by Paul Ainsworth, focuses on a chef’s own personal story of the pandemic and provides an opportunity to be part of history. The menu that chefs are working on right now could lead to them serving up their dishes to some of the biggest names in the industry, including Paul Ainsworth, Clare Smyth and Claude Bosi, later this year.

“As chefs ourselves, the Guild fully understands that time is very precious in the coming weeks which is why we wanted to give everyone more time to create an award-winning menu and be part of the UK’s most prestigious culinary contest.

“Whatever stage you get to in the competition, you will learn from the process. After the challenges of the last year, focusing on your skills, personal growth and future career is absolutely vital.”

For those chefs working on their entries, sustainability is more important than ever. Competitors must serve up a vegetarian starter incorporating ingredients on the KNORR® Future 50 Foods list. These ingredients have been identified with the support of WWF as having a positive impact on the environment, by improving the diversity of the crops we consume as well as having excellent nutritional credentials.

To celebrate great British suppliers who have been hugely impacted by the pandemic, the main course should incorporate both fish and meat of the competitor’s choice. It must reflect a chefs’ passion for helping those food heroes, who offer high quality, local, British produce from land and sea.

The dessert must explore those memories from the start of the pandemic; when food items were sparse, and families came together to invigorate a love of cooking and baking using raw ingredients. NCOTY judges are looking for a twist on some of those great British classics that bring a sense of comfort during difficult times.

You can read the full brief in detail at:  https://nationalchefoftheyear.co.uk/live/en/page/ncoty