Manor House Hotel's Amelia Ng named Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year
Amelia Ng of the Manor House Hotel, Castle Combe, has won the title of Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year 2019 after a close-fought final at University College Birmingham.
Ng presented the judges with a black sesame Bao bun with crispy challons duck and spiced plum and a main of Huntsham Farm pork and prawn wontons served with egg noodles, lotus root, pak choi, Chinese leaf, pork and shitake broth.
She said: "I am thrilled to have won Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year, especially given the standard of the other finalists.
"I heard about this competition from my mentor Ed Marsh and have been working very hard preparing over the last couple of months. I was thrilled to have made the final but to win the title is just incredible.
"The competition presented lots of challenges, but I'm so pleased that all my hard work paid off. The judges were brilliant and offered some excellent advice along the way. It's an experience I won't forget and one that I'll take with me throughout my career."
Runners up places this year went to Sophie Botting from the House of Commons, and Ryan Hyslop from South and City College Bournemouth.
President of the British Culinary Federation and judge Peter Griffiths MBE said: "This year was incredibly tough for the contestants but the judges and I were very impressed with the high standards brought to the table.
"Given the increasing popularity in street food, we incorporated a specific street food inspired course this year and each student exceeded our expectations with their dishes.
"Amelia demonstrated an excellent working method and good depth of oriental flavours and clearly put in a lot of hard work and practise in the run-up to the competition."
The competition was also judged by Michelin-starred chef Glynn Purnell and restaurateur Larkin Cen. Ng's prize includes a stage at Cen's Bristol restaurant Woky Yo, as well as a £750 prize.
