Eight shortlisted finalists for the Parliamentary Pub Chef and Parliamentary Young Pub Chef of the Year have been announced after the rigorous judging on Friday 8th December whittled down the best UK pub chefs from over 130 MP nominations.
The competition run by the British Beer & Pub Association and the All Party Parliamentary Beer Group’s in partnership with Nestlé Professional, is in its second year recognising the skill and talent of pub chefs and the important role they play in their local community and economy.
The eight will go on to cook off for judges in London in January competing for the two titles that will be announced at an award ceremony in the House of Commons on Wednesday 7th February 2018
The panel of expert judges were Paul Dickinson, Director of Food at Fuller’s; Andrej Prokes, Executive Chef at Nestlé Professional; Kate Hempsall, consultant to the beer and pub trade; and Dawn Redman, Director at Hospitality Jobs UK.
The eight finalists are:
Parliamentary Pub Chef of the Year
Kevin Maclean of The Rat Inn nominated by MP for Hexham, Guy Opperman
Oliver Farrar of The Durham Ox nominated by MP for Thirsk and Malton, Kevin Hollinrake
Ryan Lamb of The Tally Ho nominated by MP for Romsey and Southampton North, Caroline Nokes
Craig Jeffery of The Ship Inn nominated by MP for North Cornwall, Scott Mann
Parliamentary Young Pub Chef of the Year
Michael di Bella of The Dean Inn nominated by MP for Chichester, Gillian Keegan
Gordon Stott of The Sun Inn nominated by MP for North West Hampshire, Kit Malthouse
Ben Morgan of The Plough Inn nominated by MP for Ealing and Southall, Virendra Sharma
Amy Houghton of Shoulder of Mutton Inn nominated by MP of Calder Valley, Craig Whittaker
Brigid Simmonds, BBPA Chief Executive, commented: “Last year’s nominees were of a high standard but this year really has seen a step up in quality. The entries showed the breadth of talent on display in our pubs and I am excited to see what our finalists produce in the cook off.”
Judge Andrej Prokes, Executive Chef at Nestlé Professional commented: “The standard of entries for this year’s competition was extremely high. I was really impressed with the quality and attention to detail shown by the nominees. The finalists can already be really proud of what they’ve achieved and I am excited to sample their work in the cook off.”
