Craft Guild of Chefs announces 2022 Graduate Awards semi-finalists
The Craft Guild of Chefs Graduate Awards are to be held next month, with 37 candidates in the running.
Competing chefs come from a range of backgrounds, including the Dorchester and InterContinental London Park Lane hotels in the capital, the Newt in Somerset, and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire.
The awards give chefs the opportunity to improve their culinary skills while building a strong network of industry peers.
Previous winners have progressed to young and senior National Chef of the Year competitions.
Westminster Kingsway College has created a series of mentoring videos to prepare the participants, all of whom are under the age of 25.
Semi-finals will be held at West Herts College, Watford and Sheffield College.
The chefs taking part in the Sheffield semi-final are:
Brandon William Stokoe, Jesmond Dene House hotel
Billy Etheridge, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons
Carlos Patrick Lopez Sexton, Jesmond Dene House hotel
Chloe Williamson, Prestwold Hall
Jack Baldwin, the Staveley Arms
Matthew Gallagher, New Hall Hotel & Spa
Megan Beale, Dumbleton Hall Hotel
Michael Jones, Grantley Hall, Fletchers Restaurant
Miltan Masha, the Monarch Theatre
Samantha Watkins, Sapori
Sam Dixon, Northcote Hotel
Thomas Finn, Coworth Park
The chefs competing in the London semi-final are:
Alex Doyle, Marcus Belgravia
Benjamin Mabley, Hartwell House Hotel & Spa
Callum Davison, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa
Cameron Jones, the Waterside Inn
Cloe Walsh, Snaffles Restaurant, Castle Leslie Estate
Gabriella Mosca, Norton Rose Fulbright
Harry Donnelly, the RAF Club
Joshua Sealey, Fallow
Jonathan Smith, Gravetye Manor
Kenny Markham, the Falcon, Castle Ashby
Liam Balmer, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa
Maisie Brown, the Newt in Somerset
Toby Whitehead, Coworth Park
The chefs competing in the next round of the Pastry Graduate Award are:
Ana Catarina Nogueira De Melo, Intercontinental Park Lane
Catherine Glover, Pettigrew Bakeries
Daniel James Scriven, Pillars Restaurant
Danielle Rose Valerio, Pillars Restaurant
Destiny Kodheli, University of West London
Hoi Yan Tam, Brown's Hotel
James Pache, Pillars Restaurant
Katrina Atienza, University of West London
Liberty Noke, Monkey Island Estate
Max Gaitskell, Pillars Restaurant
Miles Slater, Pennyhill Park Hotel and Spa
Sanjam Nagpal, the Dorchester
Steve Munkley, founder of the Graduate Awards and vice-president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said: "Having just come back from an incredible Graduate Awards prize trip to Lyon with Grande Cuisine, I've seen first hand the impact that achieving this award can have on a young chef. As well as the mentor experience which all finalists will enjoy, there are some incredible prizes on offer this year too.
"I'd encourage all those who have made the semi-final stage to practise and study as much as possible. The chefs who have the most success in the Graduate Awards are those who put the work in, the ones who are hungry to achieve the pass mark and are determined to showcase their skills.
"Use the next few weeks wisely and grab this opportunity you've been given with both hands."
The Craft Guild of Chefs is the UK's largest chef's association, with members working globally across foodservice and hospitality.
