The Ultimate Culinary Challenge | The Tool Shed

The Ultimate Culinary Challenge

SousVideTools are once again proud to be sponsor of the UK’s most prestigious and respected culinary contest The National Chef of the Year. The annual competition shines a spotlight on the fresh talent coming out of the kitchen across the UK. Since it launched in 1972, previous winners like Gordon Ramsay, Alyn Williams and Mark Sargeant have seen how it helps fast-track careers to put winners firmly on the map, and on the path to Michelin stars. But this isn’t about style over substance: only the best, most innovative and creative chefs get a shot at the title – and an award that opens doors to future success.

As part of the support SousVideTools provides this prestigious culinary competition we have worked closely with organisers to enhance the experience and the journey that the finalists have from the moment they secure their place in the final.

SousVideTools recently hosted an Innovation Day at its state-of-the-art London Development Kitchen where finalists were able to experience a Masterclass with 2018 Winner Kuba Winkowski and a Q&A session with Hayden Groves 2013 winner, aswell as gaining valuable advice from our very own Chef Director Chris Holland who has competition experience from his time competing on the BBC’s Great British Menu.

NCOTY FINALISTS

Marc Billings, Sous Chef, Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire
Fraser Bruce, Head Chef, The Halsetown Inn, St Ives
Ben Boeynaems, Head Chef, The Zetter Hotel, London
Nick Edgar, Head Chef, The Ryebeck Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere
Steve Groves, Head Chef, Roux at Parliament Square, London
Derek Johnstone, Head Chef, Borthwick Castle, Midlothian
Harry Kirkpatrick, Sous Chef, Trinity Restaurant, London
Mehdi Lahmadi, Junior Sous-Chef, Coworth Park Hotel, Sunningdale
Karl O’Dell, Head Chef, Texture, London
Nick Smith, Head Chef, Vacherin / Ashurst, London

YNCOTY FINALISTS

Bethan Disley-Jones, Apprentice Pastry Chef , The Art School
Jordon Powell, Chef de Partie, South Lodge Hotel
Gercelynn Mae Dionio, Demi Chef de Partie, Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa
Siôn Hughes, Chef de Partie, Carden Park Hotel & Spa
George Harding, Senior Chef de Partie, The Atlantic Hotel
William Keeble, Demi Chef de Partie, Whatley Manor
Matthew Nicholls, Sous Chef, Cheals of Henley
Sam Everton, Senior Chef de Partie, Crwst
Josh Ambridge, Chef de Partie, Lord of The Manor Hotel
Bronwen Jenkins, Demi Chef de Partie, The Westbury, Mayfair

With under three weeks to go until the final which takes centre stage at the London Restaurant Show on Tuesday 1^st October the finalists were given their mystery backed of ingredients from which they will need to base their final dishes around. The brand new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London, played host to the 2019 Mentor Day where SousVideTools presented the new IvidePlus thermal circulator as the official SousVide device National and Young National Chef of the Year 2019 to the finalists.

The SousVideTools® iVide Plus Thermal Circulator with it’s high resolution wide 5inch Touch Screen interface is at the forefront of SousVide technology and is the perfect device to support the finalists in their quest to land the coveted title of National Chef of the Year. The device is WIFI enabled meaning it can be controled remotely from anywhere via our APP, it’s also designed to ensure food safety. With an 80litre capacity it guarantees a temperature stability of 0.07°C between 40°C to 100°C. 2 Year Warranty.

For more information about National Chef of the Year head over to their website https://www.nationalchefoftheyear.co.uk/ and to register to be at the final at this years Restaurant Show on Tuesday 1^st October visit: https://www.therestaurantshow.co.uk/

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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