TWO internationally-renowned chefs dropped in on Grimsby to judge the entries in a prestigious national cookery competition.
Award-winning restauranteur Mitch Tonks and former Selfridges chef Franck Pontais were among the judges at the grand final of UK Young Seafood Chef Of The Year.
The annual competition, which is hosted and organised by the Grimsby Institute, sees the best young seafood chefs from across the country showcase their skills to acclaimed industry professionals.
Heats took place at colleges up and down the UK, culminating in the grand final where teams of two young chefs from eight different colleges battled it out for the coveted UK Young Seafood Chef Of The Year trophy and £1,000 worth of vouchers for their college to spend at Russums, a leading supplier of chefs' clothing, knives, and catering equipment.
Each team cooked a three-course meal for invited guests and the judging panel, which also comprised of Young's Seafood chef Serge Nollent and Nikki Hawkins from Seafish, the national authority on seafood. And after much deliberation, Scott Pentz and Alex Slee, of Kendal College, in Cumbria were named as the winners, with Neal Blencowe and Zack Yasai of Sheffield College the runners-up.
Mitch, who opened his own seafood academy at South Devon College, said the standard of entries in the competition were improving every year.
He said: "The technical skills were very good and there was a nice blending of ingredients. The top three were really close and the competition just gets stronger and stronger every year.
"There are some really talented chefs here and I truly believe they can go on and do something in the industry."
Mitch, who owns three seafood restaurants in the south west of England, said that the popularity of fish was on the increase.
"People want to eat more and more seafood and we are discovering more varieties. To become a seafood chef is a lifetime's work and there is a real art to it."
He added that taking part in this competition would stand the students in good stead for the future.
"They have gone up against the best and they now have the chance to go on and do something really amazing."
The competition was first held in 1996, having been set up to address the lack of a specific national seafood competition for college students.
Paul Robinson, competition manager and curriculum leader for hospitality at the Institute, said: "This competition is a fantastic opportunity for young chefs to compete on a national platform within the educational sector of professional cookery training. The experience that this gives them will prove invaluable throughout their careers."
