Young chef of the year 2019 - Now open

For the third year, we are delighted to launch our search for the finest young talent, working in the kitchens of the UK. If you are under 29 years old and working as a chef, we would love to celebrate having you in the hospitality industry and to invite you to enter our nationwide competition.

Young, up-and-coming chefs will be asked to create menus that represent their own personality and style. At a time when our industry is being challenged more than ever we will be asking our contestants to demonstrate that they are the best young people, not just the best chefs, to lead the next generation.

Applicants will be asked to design a four course menu which shows that each ingredient has been thought through carefully and has been ethically sourced. We will also be challenging them to have a zero waste philosophy in their dishes. For example, if contestants are buying in the whole fish I would expect to see the whole fish used in some way. If a prime cut of meat is being bought in, then at least two secondary cuts need to be incorporated as well for example.
The top 50 entrants will be invited to M Victoria to cook their signature dish and present their menu in May to a panel of judges and whittled down to the best 15 to form the finalists. They will then cook their menu again in M’s Raw Bar, this time for paying guests as well as a member of the original judging panel. They will score the young chef on the same criteria to form 50% of each finalist’s score with the remaining 50% awarded by the paying diners each evening.

This year, M’s Culinary Director Michael Reid and M Founder Martin Williams will be joined by an incredible panel of judges made up of the UK’s best chefs and journalists including Adam Handling, Tom Sellers, James Knappett, Ben Tish, Tom Griffiths, Sabrina Gidda, Richard Bainbridge, Steve Groves , Stefan Chomka, Felicity Spector, David Ellis,
William Sitwell, Steve Dinneen and Sudi Pigott.

To apply please email: youngchefoftheyear@mrestaurants.co.uk