Following two rounds of intense culinary heats, the Craft Guild of Chefs has announced the talented chefs who will compete in the Graduate Awards final exam this September.
Throughout the semi-finals, the chefs faced a series of demanding challenges designed to test their technical skills, creativity and resilience.
The kitchen exam required them to fillet a rainbow trout; butcher a guinea fowl into breast, thigh, and drumstick; create an amuse-bouche around the humble potato; design a starter using the rainbow trout; craft a main course dish using a mystery basket of ingredients decided by 2025 kitchen chair of examiners Ben Murphy and follow a classic recipe for an Almond Pithivier.
Meanwhile pastry chefs had four and a half hours to complete three intricate tasks, including baking a classic Sacher-Torte following a recipe created by pastry chair of examiners Sarah Frankland; produce 12 pâte de fruit petit fours with flavourings of their choice and create six seasonal fresh fruit tarts.
In addition to the practical elements, all candidates completed written tests covering both classical and modern cookery to assess their theoretical knowledge.
Chefs achieving a place in the Kitchen final are:
Chefs taking part in the Pastry final include:
Whilst the individual scores remain confidential for now, the Guild has revealed that at one of the heats a chef recorded the highest score the examiners have ever witnessed at this stage of the competition achieving over 90%.
Steve Munkley, founder of the Graduate Awards and vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, commented: “The standard was really impressive for the semi-final stage, and I can’t wait to see how many chefs achieve the exam in September as it’s looking promising. But two things really stood out for me, how the Graduate Awards is about so much more than passing.
“We saw chefs overcome personal challenges, support one another, and show true resilience to complete every task. This event is no easy feat, but it helps chefs grow both personally and professionally. And this year, four chefs returned for a second time, determined to earn the accolade and demonstrate that they had learned from last years’ experience and come back even more prepared.”
Next month the finalists will go on a mentoring trip to Kent which includes a visit to Kent Culinary School, a micro-brewery tour, a vineyard visit, a farm tour and an evening at Curd & Cure with Laura Bounds MBE. This event will include a series of talks with different food and drink suppliers as well as a BBQ and networking opportunities.
Sarah Frankland, chair of the Pastry Award and executive chef at Pennyhill Park, added: “For the first time ever, we held the Pastry element over two heats, which reflects the growing interest and rising standards in this event.
“It’s the tenth anniversary of the Pastry Graduate Award, and I’m passionate about seeing it continue to grow. Everyone worked well under the pressure of the tough exam conditions, and we saw some amazing pastry dishes across the two heats. Congratulations to all the finalists.”
The Graduate Awards are sponsored by The London Meat Co, Oranka, Savoy Educational Trust, Reynolds, Meiko UK, Essential Cuisine, City and Guilds, Robert Welch, James Knight of Mayfair, the Worshipful Company of Cooks, CCE London Ltd, University of West London, Lakeland Dairies, Grande Cuisine, The Caterer, Maldon Salt, NOWAH, Daregal Gourmet, TUGO, HIT Training and Belazu.
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