Open to budding chefs from Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cheshire, Cumbria and Shropshire, entrants were required to create a three-course meal focusing on seasonality.

Due to “the weight of strong entries,” Essential Cuisine held three semi-finals for this first time in the competition’s history this year, with the six strongest chefs going through to the final:

• Oliver Mather, Punchbowl at Crosthwaite
• Ruairi Erwin, Northcote
• Sion Hughes, Carden Park
• Alasdair Aitken, Chefs Table
• [Mai Trising, Black Swan Hotel
• Cyril Gabriel, Carden Park

Leading the judging team, chairman Brian Mellor commented: “We adapted the competition last year to find the cream of talent in the region, and with a third semi-final added to the format for 2018, it looks like we’re achieving that.

“The quality and intensity of the cook-offs could have easily been the final, with the passion and dedication really shining through.”

Fellow judge Jonathan Harvey-Barnes, senior business development chef at Essential Cuisine, added: “Across the three semi-finals, each young chef impressed with their skill, meticulous menu planning and execution.

“In the end, we have six extremely worthy finalists. The margins between the competitors are so narrow that it is going to be very hard to call.

“This sets us up for a closely fought competition - I can’t wait to see what they produce on the day.”

The final will take place at South Cheshire College on 23 May, where the winner will walk away with an automatic seed in to the Young National Chef of the Year final, £500 in cash and a weekend for two at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa (Cheshire).