Following Ruth Hansom being crowned Young National Chef of the Year in October 2016, the Craft Guild of Chefs has once again begun its search for the next young chef to stand out in the UK culinary scene.
To kick-start the search, Ruth Hansom is launching the Craft Guild of Chefs’ new Snapchat channel to increase engagement with young chefs looking to develop their careers. From Sunday 2nd April, Ruth will be sharing insights into her working life and reveal what it’s like to be the most sought-after young chef in the UK. Snapchat followers can watch all the action from Ruth by adding craftguildchefs on Snapchat.
The Craft Guild of Chefs has also declared the 15 competitions or examinations the Young National Chef of the Year (YNCOTY) finalists and semi-finalists will be coming from. Young National Chef of the Year is run in partnership with KNORR in association with Lockhart Catering Equipment, Churchill, Mash, Nespresso and Norwegian Seafood.
The overall winners from the British Culinary Federation, the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Awards of Excellence, World Skills UK and the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Graduate Award will be automatically seeded a place in the final.
The remaining places will be taken by the six chefs who score the highest at two semi-finals in June. To get a place in the semi-final, young chefs must have already impressed the judges in one of these competitions or examinations over the last year:
South West Young Chef of the Year
The Master Chefs of Great Britain Young Chef of the Year
UK Skills runner up
Chaine des Rotisseurs Young Chef
Guernsey Young Chef of the Year
Young Scottish Chef of the Year @ Scot hot
Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards 2016 achievers
Junior Chef of Wales bi-annual competition
North West Chef of the Year
Young Grampian Chef of the Year
Young North East Chef of the Year
The semi-finals are to be held at Sheffield College on Tuesday, 6th June and at Le Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London on Tuesday 20th June, running alongside The National Chef of the Year.
Ruth Hansom, current Young National Chef of the Year, said, “After four years of being involved in YNCOTY it really does seem like a family. From the second you make the semi-finals, you are introduced to the amazing organisers and suppliers who help you grow and develop and they have now become good friends of mine.
'The competition has given me some amazing experiences, like traveling to Madrid and Norway, as well as cooking for Michel Roux JR. It's going to feel so strange not competing this year, which is why I am so excited to be involved in the launch and share my story and experience through Snapchat. It’s great to see the Craft Guild of Chefs engaging with young chefs in this way.”
David Mulcahy, YNCOTY competition organiser and Vice-President of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said, “We’re constantly looking for new ways and channels to promote The National Chef of the Year and Young National Chef of the Year competitions. We need to adapt the way we communicate and talk to young chefs and ensure we’re using the channels they are familiar with themselves.
'Ruth is a huge ambassador for the competition and someone who has demonstrated you never give up on your goals. She was a hugely popular winner across the industry last year and someone I’m confident we’ll see in the senior competition one day. That’s why we’re so delighted she is officially launching the Young Chef of the Year 2018 competition. Make sure you login to Snapchat and follow her story.”
The Young National Chef of the Year winner will be revealed along with The National Chef of the Year at an awards ceremony following The Restaurant Show on Tuesday 3 October 2017.