The esteemed Young Chef Young Waiter competition has announced the names of this year’s judges – with the likes of Theo Randall, Jason Atherton, Emily Roux and Claude Bosi set to grace the panel
Calling all aspiring chefs and waiters! Hold on to your aprons. The judges for the relaunched Young Chef Young Waiter competition have been announced – with this year seeing an impressive number of the nation’s best chefs getting involved with the project.
The esteemed competition is celebrating 40 years in the UK this year, with the inspirational judging panel set to include the likes of Theo Randall, Jason Atherton, Emily Roux, Claude Bosi, Ruth Hansom and Tom Aikens.
First established in 1979, this exciting competition has been relaunched by Nth Degree Global in partnership with UKHospitality and the Restaurant Association, to promote hospitality as a career of choice, a profession and a vocation.
YCYW aims to find the best young chef and best young waiter. This year’s entries will close on 15 September 2019 where a short-list of 40 finalists of 20 chefs and 20 waiters will be selected.
With free entry for chefs and waiters under the age of 26, the winners will take part in a live competition on 28 and 29 October. During this intense culinary showdown, finalists will battle it out to impress the high-profile judges.
Jason Atherton, of The Social Company commented: “I’m so pleased to be involved in this year’s Young Chef Young Waiter and to help promote the hospitality industry to young people.
It’s fast-paced and hectic but a rewarding exciting industry to be a part of and this competition is a great way for young people to start out”.
Emily Roux also told The Wordrobe: “Without the passion and determination of young chefs and young waiters there would be no future for our industry.
There’s nothing quite like working in hospitality and to succeed you have to have a certain level of grit and ambition. This competition gives young talent the opportunity to stand out amongst the others and prove what an exciting and special industry ours is to work in.”
About the judges
The digital entries will be judged by leading figures from the hospitality industry and the full judging panel includes our Head Chef Judge Theo Randall and Head Waiter Judge Simon King.
The seriously talented line-up also features Jason Atherton, Tom Kerridge, Claude Bosi, Emily Roux, Tom Aikens, Jeff and Chris Galvin, Andy Downton, Johanna Wimmer, Merlin Labron-Johnson and Sanjay Dwivedi.
Ruth Hansom, Matthew Ryle, Adam Simmonds, Dimi Leivadas, Jennifer Santner, James Fleming, Beatrice Bessi, Andrew McKenzie, Antonio Salvatore and Salvatore Broccu are also set to take part.
Now in its 40th year, Young Chef Young Waiter continues to highlight the remarkable skills of the finest young professionals building their careers in the industry.
Many past winners have gone on to achieve huge success in hospitality and YCYW proudly supports the future stars in Britain’s kitchens and restaurants.
Key diary dates:
15 September 2019 – Entries close
23 September 2019 – Shortlist announced
October 2019 – Two-day event in London with finalists
29 October 2019 – Winners announced at YCYW party