Outstanding cooking delivers hotly-contested semi-finals
A collection of highly talented chefs came together at Exeter College on Saturday 28th September to compete in the semi-finals of the Professional, Young Professional and Student/Apprentice categories of South West Chef of the Year.
Well done to everyone who took part, cooking at their highest level, to really challenge our judges! After much deliberation and discussion, the judges have selected the competitors for this year’s finals and you will find the details below. Many congratulations to all our finalists!
Thank you to all the staff and students of the Michael Caines Academy at Exeter College for hosting the competition and supporting throughout the day.
And thank you, very much, to our judges for the semi-finals, Michael Caines MBE DL, Neil Haydock, Hywel Jones, Tim Kendall, Harriet Mansell, Matt Mason, Scott Paton, Rob Potter, Chris Tanner and Ian Webber.
Thank you to our generous sponsors (outlined below) for enabling us to stage these categories of the competition. The compulsory ingredients for the semi-finals were very kindly supplied by M C Kelly, Flying Fish Seafoods, Darts Farm.
Listed below you will find the names of the finalists in all five categories of the competition. The finals of the Home Cook and Junior Chef categories will take place on Saturday 5th October and the Professional, Young Professional and Student/Apprentice Chef categories on Tuesday 29th October.
Results and Awards Dinner
The final results of this year’s competition will be announced at our awards presentation evening, immediately following the finals, on 29th October at Exeter Golf and Country Club. This year’s dinner also provides an opportunity for us to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the competition and we would be delighted to welcome anyone who would like to join us (ticket details below).
To mark our anniversary, a very special dinner will be prepared by a collection of four Michelin-starred chefs, all judges and/or previous winners of the competition, alongside other previous winners:
Starter
Chris Cleghorn, Michelin-starred Executive Head Chef at The Olive Tree, Bath and judge of South West Chef of the Year
Fish
Hywel Jones, Michelin-starred Executive Chef at Lucknam Park, Bath and judge of South West Chef of the Year, alongside Andrew Jenkinson, South West Young Professional and Overall Chef of the Year 2023
Main
Scott Paton, Michelin-starred Executive Chef at Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, judge of South West Chef of the Year and South West Young Professional Chef of the Year 2009, alongside Joe Cotton, Sous Chef at Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, South West Professional Chef of the Year 2022.
Dessert
Michael Caines MBE DL, Michelin-starred Chef Proprietor, Lympstone Manor, Exmouth and co-founder and head judge of South West Chef of the Year.
Further details of the evening can be found at southwestchef.co.uk/awards-evening where you can also buy your tickets.
The 2024 Finalists….
Lead sponsor:
The overall South West Chef of the Year award is sponsored by:
Professional Chef category finalists:
Final to be held on Tuesday 29th October at Exeter College
(in alphabetical order)
- Harrison Brockington, Head Chef, Gather, Totnes, Devon
- Simon Davies, Head Chef, The Rising Sun, Altarnun, Cornwall
- Ben Godiff, Sous Chef, Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, Devon
- Wyn Jones, Sous Chef, Calcot & Spa, Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Young Professional category finalists:
Sponsored by Essential Cuisine
Final to be held on Tuesday 29th October at Exeter College
(in alphabetical order)
- Emiley Clark, Chef de Partie, The Farm Table, Darts Farm, Topsham, Devon
- Keren Fry, Junior Sous Chef, Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, Devon
- Ollie Stonefrost, Demi Chef de Partie, Lucknam Park, Bath
- Owen-John Vincent, Senior Chef de Partie, The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
Student/Apprentice Chef category finalists:
Sponsored by Nisbets
Final to be held on Tuesday 29th October at Exeter College
(in alphabetical order)
- Charlie Campbell, City College Plymouth and The Barbican Kitchen, Plymouth, Devon
- Finn Clark, Exeter College and Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, Devon
- Aimee Crawley, Bridgwater & Taunton College and Monkton Elm Garden Centre, Taunton, Somerset
- Toby Pyne, Truro & Penwith College and The Peterville Inn, St Agnes, Cornwall
Home Cook category finalists:
Final to be held on Saturday 5th October at Exeter College
(in alphabetical order)
- Tareq Assaf, Bath, Somerset
- Lucinda Ellicott, Paignton, Devon
- Oscar Egbulam, Bedminster, Bristol
Junior Chef category finalists:
Sponsored by Michael Caines Ltd.
Finals were held in each of the six counties of the South West during June and the winners in each county, listed below, will now meet at the final. Each has been mentored by one of our county judges in preparation for the final. Two competitors could not be split at the Cornwall final and so our judges chose to award the title jointly to both!
Final to be held on Saturday 5th October at Exeter College
(in county order)
Cornwall
- Freya – Penrice Academy, St Austell, Cornwall
- Sam – Penrice Academy, St Austell, Cornwall
Mentor judge: Pete Murt, Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant, Padstow
Devon
- Tom – Trinity School, Teignmouth, Devon
Mentor judge: Scott Paton, Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall Hotel, Plympton, Devon and Mark Dodson, The Masons Arms, Knowstone, Devon
Dorset
- Harry – Lytchett Minster School, Poole
Mentor judge: Sam Hughes, Rick Stein, Sandbanks
Gloucestershire
- Lexie – Churchdown School Academy, Gloucester
Mentor judge: Nathan Johnson, The Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath
Somerset
- Kai – Merchants Academy, Bristol
Mentor judge: Olly Jackson, Mount Somerset Hotel, Henlade
Wiltshire
- James – St John’s School, Marlborough
Mentor judge: Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park, Bath
Click here for further details of the county finals of the Junior Chef category
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