The final round of the contest took place at Compass’ flagship regional community skills and learning hub, Xcelerate with Edgbaston, as ten finalists competed for the title - celebrating and supporting culinary talent from across the business.

The event saw each finalist presented with a mystery box of ingredients, with the challenge to create a three-course meal in just two and half hours. The ingredients included items such as wild venison, fresh hake and seasonal fruit and vegetables including rhubarb and asparagus.

The apprentice chefs were given ten days to plan their menus, and were judged using a strict criteria, which included culinary skills, presentation, flavours, cleanliness, creating minimal waste and overall balance across the three courses.

Harvey’s winning menu was:

• Starter: hake mosaic, popcorn mussels, leek and mussel velouté with parsley oil.
• Main course: wild venison wellington, with vanilla and celeriac puree, wild mushrooms and asparagus tips, Maderia jus and parsley oil.
• Dessert: white and dark chocolate fondant, orange crème, with caramelised sourdough crumb and orange gel.

Speaking about his victory, Harvey said: “This has been a brilliant experience from start to finish, and I’m so proud to have been named Apprentice Chef of the Year. I was honoured to be cooking alongside such a talented and passionate group of chefs, and I’ve learnt so much through the process. Huge thanks to my team and mentors for all the support. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

The competition is designed to give apprentices an opportunity to learn, develop, network and compete. Second place was awarded to Aisha Joel from Restaurant Associates and third place went to Matthew Cruse from Chartwells Universities.

The competition was judged by Nick Vadis, culinary director at Compass Group UK & Ireland and chef ambassador to the NHS Supply Chain; Leanne Turk, head of culinary development, Foodbuy; Mark Belford, chef academy principal, HIT Training; Matt Lord, regional executive chef, ESS and Nicola Harper, group executive chef, ESS.

Vadis added: “This is always such a brilliant competition as the apprentice chefs really throw everything into it. It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase what they can do and what they’ve been learning in the kitchen. They are the foundation to the future of our industry and they underpin everything we do. Well done to all of the finalists, they really did themselves proud and made the judges’ job as challenging as it was enjoyable.”

Compass currently has over 750 people enrolled on apprenticeships, covering more than 40 subjects with standards from entry to degree level.