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Young seafood chef contest
02/03/2010
A competition to find the young scottish seafood chef of the year has been launched.
The contest, run by Seafood Scotland, will be targeted at young chefs under 23 years old on June 30, 2010.
Prizes for the winner include a specially commissioned trophy; a visit to Lyons in January 2011 to attend the final of the Bocuse d'Or competition; a week's work experience at Ondine under the tutelage of seafood chef Roy Brett; plus the opportunity to cook the winning dishes at a Ministerial dinner.
Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
"Last year's Young Seafood Chef of the Year attracted significant interest from all over Scotland. The competition forms part of our campaign to get more people eating fish as part of a balanced diet - it's tasty, sustainable and delivers major health benefits.
"The competition also recognises and encourages the skill, talent and innovation which we have in our hospitality sector. Our restaurants, hotels and cafes are an integral part of our drive to further improve our international reputation as a land of food and drink."
SFS Marketing Executive Sarah Holmyard said:
"This is a fantastic set of prizes and we are sure it will attract a high calibre of entrants from colleges and top catering establishments across Scotland."
The competition is in its second year and has been organised as part of a wider package of measures designed to encourage greater consumption of Scottish seafood. Chefs must submit recipes for two portions of a starter and a main dish, using aquaculture species for one course (salmon, Gigha halibut and mussels) and wild caught for the other course (mackerel, haddock, langoustine). Judges will be looking for competitors to show imagination in their choice of recipe ingredients, for use of seasonal Scottish produce, and for skill in preparation, cooking and presentation.
The recipes will be judged by a panel from the Federation of Chefs Scotland, who will choose six finalists to take part in a cook-off at the end of June.
To give finalists a greater understanding of the seafood industry, they will be invited to join a trip to the northeast of Scotland, to experience markets, vessels and processors in action.
The deadline for submission of entries is Friday April 30.
Seafood Scotland works throughout the supply chain to promote, market and develop responsibly and sustainably caught Scottish seafood. Seafood Scotland is the delivery partner for Seafish in Scotland.