The annual competition celebrates the next generation of culinary talent with three rounds of cooking competitions, culminating with a live-action finale at the Hospitality Show in Birmingham in 2017.

The competition will see the inspiring chefs battle it out for a chance to win the title and an all-expenses paid trip to Avery Island, Louisiana where TABASCO® Sauce has been made for nearly 150 years.  Additionally, Whitbread, the UK’s largest hospitality company, will consider putting the winning dish on their menu.

The full list of semi-finalists is as follows:

• Kevin Dacpano Grapo, Hammersmith and Fulham College
• Davina Jackson-Keen, Westminster Kingsway College
• Iza Macedo, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
• Angela Osei, Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College
• Amine Abdaoui, Clayton Crown Hotel
• Joseph Berney, Westminster Kingsway College
• Alex Yates, Westminster Kingsway College
• Thomas Murby, East Kent College
• Lewis Jordan Frederick, Westminster Kingsway College
• Brandon Finch, Colchester Institute
• Lucy Robinson, East Kent College
• Jazmine Wallace, South Downs College
• Bradley Travers, Guernsey College
• Liam Torode, Guernsey College
• Cameron Akers, Eastleigh College
• Khadra Abdullahi, Liecester College
• Emily Bucknall, Loughborough College
• Jamie Webster, Yorkshire Coast College
• Sian Dixon, Loughborough College
• Damien Batchelor, West Kent College

Last year Lexington Catering College student Gaia Tomasin won the competition following a tense final at Hotelympia’s Salon Culinaire.