Over three hours, chef Jozef challenged the room with an exploration into the impact of the five senses on food perception, from eating a jellybean wearing a nose clip to show how the sense of smell assists flavour recognition, to suggesting the food of the future could indeed be jellyfish.

Mark Lombard, managing director at Lockhart Catering Equipment, said: “When creating an event to inspire the top chefs in the country, what can we offer them that will help on their NCOTY journey? It has to be something ‘out there’, something different, and chef Jozef Youssef provided that in abundance at the event at Kitchen Theory.”

The semi-finalists gained insights into the significance of embracing sight, sound, aroma and touch when creating recipes and considering how to plate.

Donna Frosdick, PR and digital marketing manager at Churchill, added: “The dark room, the smoky atmosphere, the aromas and the choice of tableware had such an incredible impact on the room and how we interpreted the food we were served. An amazing afternoon that is sure to provide inspiration to the semi-finalists.”

This year’s NCOTY winner will be unveiled at an awards evening at the Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square on 8th of October.

Howard Beasley, national sales manager at Essential Cuisine, concluded: “At this level in the competition, we as sponsors have a great opportunity to influence and inspire the semi-finalists, and this event was a great opportunity to do just that. As well as learning a great deal about gastrophysics we also had the chance to network, and at the end of the event, the room was buzzing with conversation and questions for chef Jozef. A truly successful afternoon.”