Two young chefs from West College Scotland have been crowned national champions at the 2018 UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition.
The competition, headline sponsored by Seafish, saw teams from across the UK battle through three regional heats to earn a place at the final. Jamie Cracknell, 21, and Sagar Massey, 19, who are both studying for a HNC in professional cookery, battled it out against eight other teams to produce a three-course menu using only sustainably sourced seafood.
Nikki Hawkins, events manager at Seafish said: “The standard of cooking throughout this year’s competition has been fantastic, with every team pushing themselves to showcase their exceptional seafood skills.
“The UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition is open to any chef under 25 who is enrolled at a catering college or working as a modern apprentice. It’s highly respected across the industry, and I’d encourage anyone who is interested in challenging themselves to consider taking part in the years to come.”
Expert panel
The final’s judging panel included Serge Nollent, head of culinary from Youngs, chef and author Franck Pontais, Nikki Hawkins of Seafish, George McIvor from Master Chefs of Great Britain and Galton Blackiston, owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Morston Hall.
The final of the competition was held at the Grimsby Institute on 15 June. Young’s Seafood supplied the fish for the competition.
The champions’ winning recipes will be featured on the website of Seafish’s National Seafood Week, set to take place on 5-12 October.
