The National and Young National Chef of the Year competitions will take place at The Restaurant Show tomorrow (4th October).

Below find biographies of all of this year's National Chef of the Year finalists.

Martin Carrabot

I began cooking professionally in 2006 in my home country of Malta at a four-star hotel, whilst studying at the Institute of Tourism Studies. From here, I graduated with a Diploma MQF level 4 in Culinary Arts and a City and Guilds level 3 IVQ. As part of my studies at the Institute, I spent one-year doing an international work placement at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire, Scotland.

On completion of the course, I returned to Gleneagles for another 18 months. During this time, I completed brief stages at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie and also represented the hotel at national competitions. In September of 2011, I moved to London to work for Heinz Beck at the Michelin-starred Apsley’s restaurant in the Lanesborough Hotel which has now re-opened as Restaurant Celeste. One of the most important moves came right after Apsley’s, when, after a number of trials in restaurants around London, I joined the team at the Royal Automobile Club under Executive Chef, Philip Corrick. In the space of three years, I progressed from Chef de Partie to Senior Sous Chef, working in the fine dining restaurant, The Great Gallery.

During my time here I was given creative freedom so that I could develop myself as a chef in a lot of ways, especially how to make a kitchen work as a team that’s made up of a lot of people from different backgrounds.

It also exposed me to a range of cooking styles through promotions held at the club where renowned restaurants and chefs, both national and international, produce their menus for a limited time. Through the Club, I also spent a week staging at places like Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. Staff development is highly encouraged where I work.

I am also encouraged to take part in events such as last year’s National Chef of the Year where I managed to place third in the final and the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Annual Award of Excellence which I achieved in 2014. This year I reached the final of the Roux Scholarship, another one of the most important experiences I have been involved in.

I entered National Chef of the Year again this year as I wanted to see where I stand with other chefs in the country. It’s also a great learning experience which exposes me to other cooking styles and techniques and receiving feedback from established and highly successful chefs. I am mostly influenced by what I would like to eat as a customer. Having worked with a number of chefs throughout my career, and being exposed to things I see in books or in media and experimenting, I have learned a number of techniques which help a lot. However, regardless of technique, it always starts with the ingredients for me.

Stephanie Coupland

I started working when I was sixteen at Flying Fish in Sydney. Having also worked at Est in Sydney, I decided to travel overseas to further my career and ended up at The Fat Duck in Bray where I worked for 2 and a half years. My next role was at Petrus Knightsbridge for 18 months and I am currently at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay as Senior Chef de Partie.

What inspired me when I was younger, and still inspires me to be a chef, is my family. Both my parents are chefs and all of my childhood I ate the most amazing food. Special occasions were something we looked forward to because we could plan an amazing family meal together. Food is something that has always been very special to me. I always wanted to be able to cook like my parents (something I'm still trying to achieve, but I don't think I ever will because you can't beat my mum’s amazing chocolate cake or dad’s roast duck with sweet potato mash and green peppercorn sauce).

I decided to enter NCOTY this year to push myself and to see what competition is out there. Plus, I think it would be nice to have a woman win it for once!

James Devine

I was relatively late starting in the industry, aged 20, as I had planned to pursue a career in law. Despite my acceptance to Queens University Belfast I opted to take a year out instead. During this time, I worked as a Kitchen Porter in a local restaurant and got the bug pretty instantly. Previous roles have included Head Chef at the Black Cat Restaurant and Deli on the Green in Dungannon and part-time Culinary Art Lecturer in local colleges.

Jamie Oliver, embarrassingly, was who I wanted to be like and I pictured that all chefs were footloose and carefree like him. Unfortunately, I had not seen Ramsey’s Boiling Point until some months later.

Whilst I instantly liked the industry, I was by no means naturally gifted or talented and spent the first few years covered in cuts and feeling sorry for myself. I admired Northern Irish chefs such as Michael Deane and Barry Smyth. Throughout my career, I’ve always had very simple ambitions of just being a good chef who is well respected amongst his peers and has a successful business.

I’m really enjoying my current role working under Danni Barry. We worked together in the early stages of our careers and I knew within five minutes of meeting Danni she was going to be a Michelin-starred Chef and therefore knew it was important we become friends rather than enemies.

It was Danni who suggested I enter NCOTY and without her support I would never have believed I could get this far.  This competition has been amazing given the standard of entries and the judges themselves. I’m enjoying every minute of it and really relish the thought of the final!

Paul Foster

Paul started life as a Chef at Henley College Coventry and went on to work at several restaurants around the Midlands area before completing a year at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxfordshire. In 2006 he won the William Heptinstall Award which gave him the opportunity to undertake stages at L’Auberge de l’Ile in France, WD50 in New York and The French Laundry in California.

On his return to the UK, Paul began work as Sous Chef for Sat Bains - his biggest inspiration to date. Sat encouraged his creative development and taught him that taste, flavour and quality of ingredients should be a chef’s paramount focus.

In 2010, Paul took on his first Head Chef role at Tuddenham Mill in Suffolk where he achieved many accolades including 3 AA rosettes, The Good Food Guide 2011’s UK Best Up and Coming Chef, and Observer Food Monthly Young Chef of the Year 2011. After four years spent honing his style, he returned to his home county to take the role of Head Chef at Mallory Court, Warwickshire in 2014.

Paul is currently working on one of the biggest challenges of his career, having stepped down at Mallory Court in April 2016 to fulfil his dream of opening his own restaurant. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Paul is now well on his way to achieving that dream. His restaurant, Salt, will be based in South Warwickshire, serving high quality food and offering a relaxed, friendly environment.

Paul is very excited about National Chef of the Year which is one of the most prestigious competitions in the UK. He has entered to win and considers the possibility of him having his name alongside other amazing chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Mark Sargeant to be an absolute honour.

Luciano Lucioli

I am a self-taught chef who developed my love for cooking from my mother and I love to share my passion for cooking with diners. My first experience in a professional kitchen was at the age of 14 when I worked as a kitchen porter during the summer. On leaving school I returned to the kitchen and worked in a few Italian restaurants until I decided to move to London in 2010 to gain more experience and influence from different cuisines and chefs.

During this time, I worked in some world class restaurants such as Murano, Rhodes 24, The Greenhouse and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester. I am now Group Head Chef of Hospitality and Events for Lusso at Marks & Spencer Headquarters, which allows me to develop my own cooking style and constantly look for new techniques and great flavour combinations.

I like challenges and at the moment the NCOTY competition is on the top of my list of things I want to achieve in my career. I’m really delighted to be a National Chef of the Year finalist. The semi-final cook-off was intense because my fellow competitors were all incredibly talented. This is my second time in the final, so I’m going to maximise my learnings from last year, together with the advice I will receive at the Mentor Day in September, to prepare myself for the big day. I’m very excited about the final, it’s going to be a fantastic event. Who knows, this could be my year! I also wanted to use the opportunity to raise my profile in the industry and expand my opportunities for the future. I’ve got a dream of running my own restaurant one day.

Liam McKenna

I started my career at Carnoustie Golf Hotel not long after it opened and I then went on to work in several restaurants in the Edinburgh area, including Circus Restaurant and Archerfield Golf Club, North Berwick.

My next role was head chef at Rocca at the Russacks Hotel in St. Andrews before moving to Australia to work in a Japanese restaurant and a private members yacht club in Melbourne for four years. It was two years ago that I returned to Scotland to take up the position of sous chef at Donald Trump’s Aberdeenshire estate and am now Head Chef at Trump International.

Daniel Parker

I am the Head Chef at Kenny Atkinson @ House of Tides in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Having previously worked alongside Alan O’Kane at Wynyard Hall.

In the beginning, I wasn’t so much inspired to be a chef, it was a bit of a happy accident, but what inspires me now are the constant possibilities and the endless amount of roads you can go down with food. The industry is such a busy, hectic place, but everyone has time for each other, everyone is happy to teach, and to share knowledge. Also inspiring me is the guests I cook for; being a part of their special occasion, or helping them enjoy a nice evening is a fantastic feeling, and amazing to be a part of.

As for entering the competition, I entered National Chef of the Year as it is such a well-respected competition within the industry. I wanted a new challenge and this seemed like the perfect thing to challenge myself, and for me to pit myself against some of the best chefs in the country. To be included in the final is an absolute honour, and no matter where I place in the final, it is something I will remember for a long, long time. 

Charles Smith

I am the Head Chef at Alyn Williams at The Westbury having first worked for Alyn almost nine years ago at Petrus. I started in the kitchen at 14 years old washing dishes and preparing vegetables in my local restaurant. I have always loved eating and had this desire to be a chef from a very young age. At 16, when I left school, I took my first paid job as a chef, working for Paul Heathcote, but I then won a cooking competition and landed myself a job at the Michelin-starred Gilpin Lodge. From there I went to work for Marcus Wareing for four years and worked my way up to Junior Sous Chef. During this time, I won the Craft Guild of Chefs Young National Chef of The Year (YNCOTY) in 2011. Following this exciting win, I moved to New York to work for Thomas Keller at his three Michelin-starred restaurant Per Se. My next role was in London working with James Knappett at Kitchen Table before landing my current role.

I have always enjoyed competitions and it definitely opens doors in your career. Having won the YNCOTY title, I am determined to get my hands on the other and I’m very happy to be part of this year’s competition. 

Adam Thomason

After being inspired by Sat Bains during a school work experience, I have been addicted to the industry ever since. I moved to Copenhagen at 18 years old and this opened my eyes to a new world of cuisine. The guys at Formel B really pushed me to think about food from different angles. Currently, I am working with Restaurant Associates at Deloitte where I oversee the whole catering operation but spend most of my time in my baby – ‘the fine dining kitchen’.  

After years of working with fine dining food, it has become clear to me that my passion lies within creating food that is both exciting and stimulating to the palate. Creating memories and unique experiences that will never be forgotten, whilst guaranteeing the precise execution of each dish, is a challenge that continues to inspire me. Understanding and respecting the ingredients and using this knowledge to stir an excitement in the brigade, ensures that we will work together to create an ever-evolving kitchen that will exceed expectations.

Kamil Wierzbowski

I am currently Sous Chef at Petrus Restaurant, Gordon Ramsay having previously worked in Warsaw, Poland after graduating from culinary college there.

I love challenges and have been a participant and laureate of many culinary competitions. This includes winner of the international competition in Paris (2011), Commis Chef for National Polish Senior team for the Culinary Olympic IKA in Erfurt, Germany (2012), participant of the Pasta World Championship in Parma, Italy (2014) and pre-casting judge of the 2nd and 3rd edition MasterChef Poland (2013/2014).

I have always been very passionate about cooking and I knew one day I would be a chef. As I began my career, I realised there is no other profession like it, in the way you get the chance to constantly learn. The more I learn about food, the more I realise how little I know and this gives me a hunger and motivation for improving.

With NCOTY, I was inspired by my head chef, Lahiru Jayasekara, who won last year. Being a finalist provides a great opportunity to meet other chefs from this country.

Stay tuned the Craft Guild's Twitter (@Craft_Guild) and check the website for NCOTY and YNCOTY updates.