News Archives - Page 22 of 122

Christie Hayes Wins Institute of Hospitality Restaurant Manager of the Year 2023

An emotional Christie Hayes, won the coveted Restaurant Manager of the Year 2023 (RMOY) title, sponsored by The Hari on Monday night, at a glittering reception at the Hotel Café Royal, London.

Christie, Restaurant Manager at Beach House, Oxwich, Swansea, Wales, fought off tough competition from 15 other semi-finalists to scoop the title and claim her position as the Institute’s 13^th winner of the Restaurant Manager of the Year competition.

Along with the RMOY title and trophy, Christie also receives 12 month’s IoH membership, invitations to all IoH events, and a series of coaching sessions from the prestigious Dorchester Collection Academy.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on Wednesday (8 March 2023), Christie joins the ranks of other female RMOY winners and other leading female front-of-house talent, who work in the hospitality industry and raise the profile of women in hospitality.

Speaking about her win, Christie commented: “I’m shocked and so emotional to have won this fantastic award. I’m so very grateful to my team and for this opportunity. The other competitors have been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed completing all the tasks and I’ve met some wonderful people, throughout the day. It’s been so much fun. I’m incredibly proud and so happy that my sister was here to share this experience with me.”

This year’s runner up, Liam Simpson, from The Strathearn, The Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland said: “I am very proud to be runner up in the RMOY 2023 competition. It was an incredible day of networking and great fun. I’d like to congratulate the winner Christie on a hard-earned victory and the rest of my competitors on getting this far. If this year’s competition is anything to go by, hospitality in Britain is in very good hands. Hopefully, I’ll return next year!”

To support their career development, all this year’s semi-finalists receive a year’s IoH Membership and free tickets to the IoH events, to help them access a vast range of the IoH’s resources and to encourage them to network. For the first time, they will also receive mentoring from one of the judges.

Sarah Peters FIH, IoH Head of Events said: “I would like to say a massive thank you to all the incredible semi-finalists, our incredible judges who gave their valuable time to help us access such amazing talent and to our panellists who joined us at the Winner’s Reception. None of this would have been possible without our headline sponsors The Hari, London who have generously committed to being the headline sponsor of this competition for the next three years, to The Hotel Café Royal, for looking after us so well, to Spirit Cartel and Prosecco DOC for supplying our guests with amazing drinks and to Foodbuy, our Gold Business Partner for their support.”

Luciana Berry Aims for Top Chef Top Spot

Filming has wrapped on Bravo’s Top Chef Champion of Champions and Chefs’ Forum favourite Luciana Berry is flying the flag for Brazil. Having won Top Chef Brazil in 2020, Luciana was asked back to become part of new show Top Chef Champion of Champions which saw her represent Brazil in the popular US TV chef show.

Luciana told us exclusively: “It was wonderful to be asked back onto Top Chef but this time to represent Brazil. We filmed in London and a crack team came over from America and there were also teams from France, Italy and Spain. We were able to add our own touches and cuisine to the challenges and I had a great time spreading the word about the wonderful cuisine of Brazil.”

Top Chef Champion of Champions airs on Bravo on 9th March and can be watched in the UK online. We wish Luciana all the best and will be catching up with her to find out more behind-the-scenes details after the event.

Top Chef is one of the most successful US TV Chef shows and we are excited that one of our very favourite chefs made it all the way to the finals this time round, again.

Luciana has been passing on her knowledge and skill to the next generation of chefs in supporting our Chefs’ Forum Academies at both West London College and Langley College. Luciana gets a great deal of satisfaction out of teaching the students everything from traditional Brazilian dishes like Rabada (oxtail) to pancakes with a twist to wow their families on pancake day!

Tune-in to Bravo on the 9^th March to see how Luciana gets on – We wish her all the very best of luck and can’t wait to see the Top Chef Brazil winner in action!

School Students Get a Taste of Manchester Hospitality

200 students from 10 Manchester schools joined local top chefs at The Manchester College on Tuesday to learn about hospitality, cooking, cocktails and what they can expect from a catering course.

The special “Hospitality Industry Taster Day”, organised by The Chefs’ Forum Academy is now a well-oiled template for introducing school students to college life. The two-hour session, which was free to all year 8,9,10 and 11 students, ran from 10.30am – 12.30pm

“Our taster days are unique,” explained Chefs’ Forum director Catherine Farinha. “They are an insight into the world of the hospitality industry with top local and national professionals giving up their time to introduce schools students to their profession. They are always popular and always full and we have our brilliant Event Executives Brogen and Alice to thank for that – It is the hard work that goes on behind the scenes that makes these events so special. It was humbling to be complimented by the Manchester College teaching team and schools who attended on how professional and well-run the event was today – We look forward to many more with this brilliant college and absolutely love what we do”.

The event was punctuated with live singing and dancing by LowKeyLimit, Exose’s music artist brother, flanked by four amazing dance students from the Arden Centre – The performing arts department of UCEN, also based at the City Centre Campus. Lowkeylimit performed his new single, Manchester Vibes, which launched last Friday.

Everything we did during was designed to showcase the world-class facility across five campuses of The Manchester College and the wonderful opportunities available for Manchester Schoolchildren to further their education.

Maxing Gunning, Head of Curriculum Hospitality & Catering and Travel & Tourism “The taster days organised in partnership with The Chef Forum are an excellent way for us to introduce our courses to students who, otherwise, might not realise the extent of the exciting career opportunities that exist in the hospitality and catering sector. Coupled with our brand-new industry standard facilities, our partnership with The Chefs’ Forum Academy which provides access to top local and national chefs who come and deliver alongside our highly qualified teachers, ensure our students are career ready once they complete their course.”

The event:

Canapé & mocktail reception
Interactive cookery demos
Daniel Rodriguez (MasterChef: The Professionals 2022 and Sous Chef at Hilton Manchester Deansgate)
Scott Munro (Executive Chef at Ducie Street Warehouse)
Pasta making with Exose Grant (MasterChef: The Professionals 2019) and a cookery demo by Andrew Green (Executive Chef at Mottram Hall)
Lunch
Éclair decorating competition – This was won by Maka and Makayla, two year ten students from Middleton Technology School who wowed judges Exose Grant and Revae Marley with their creative flair and perfectly-filled and decorated éclair – The girls each won a copy of The Chefs’ Knowledge, our new book, signed by Exose who features in the publication in a feature entitled ‘What type of chef do you want to be?’

The Chefs’ Knowledge is packed with 100 recipes all student and junior chefs need to know, with a whole wealth of information about becoming a chef – Click in the link below to purchase your copy today!

https://thechefsforum-payments.co.uk/

Film and photo credit: Carlos Farinha

A Grand Way to Buy Your Ricotta

We’ve teamed up with Lactalis Professional to bring you an opportunity to win £1,000 simply by buying a 1.5kg tub of Galbani Ricotta from a list of prescribed suppliers.

ENTER THE DRAW HERE

All you need to do to enter is a buy 1.5kg tub of Galbani Ricotta from this list of suppliers below and take a photo of the receipt. Send this into us via the email at the bottom and your name will go into the prize draw to win £1000 in cash!

You can enter as many times as you like. You just need a fresh receipt for each entry.

Ricotta is a unique product and actually means “re cooked” in Italian as it’s a bi-product of the cheese making industry and made from the leftover whey.

“Ricotta is indispensable,” Italian chef Maurizio Bocchi of La Locanda in Lancashire told us. “I use it in my ravioli of spinach and ricotta and you can find the recipe in The Chefs’ Knowledge.”

VIEW RECIPE HERE

Order your ricotta from one of these fantastic foodservice suppliers:

A DAVID & CO LTD
ALLAN REEDER LTD
BFS GROUP LTD T/A BIDFOOD
BIDFRESH LTD T/A OLIVER KAY
CASTELL HOWELL FOODS LIMITED
CN FOODS DISTRIBUTORS LIMITED
CONTINENTAL WINE & FOOD LTD
DIVINE IMPORTERS LTD
DO & CO EVENT & AIRLINE CATERING LTD
FRESH DIRECT (UK) LTD
HARVEY & BROCKLESS LIMITED
HOLLAND BAZAAR LTD
JAMES BURDEN LIMITED
LONGMAN CHEESE SALES LTD
WINGS FOOD SOLUTIONS LTD

An uploaded photo of a valid itemised till receipt/ invoice from a recognised wholesaler as outlined above, clearly showing the purchase of a minimum of one (1) pack of GALBANI PROFESSIONAL RICOTTA 1.5 KG purchased between the promotional dates and prior to entry as proof of purchase, on https://lactalispro.co.uk/best-of-italian/win-1000 is required

Complete the application registration by entering first and last name, personal genuine email address, business name and official job title.

On submission of the entry into the prize draw entrants will see an onscreen message confirming their entry.

Terms & Conditions

UK catering & hospitality business personnel only 18+. Promotion open 00.00 on 20.02.23 to 23:59 on 20.03.23. Purchase necessary. Internet access & registration required. To enter the prize draw online, purchase GALBANI PROFESSIONAL RICOTTA 1.5 KG from selected wholesalers then upload proof of purchase and name, personal email, business name and job title at https://lactalispro.co.uk/best-of-italian/win-1000. Retain each receipt for entry/ claim. Employee/employer consent required. Prize of £1000 to win (via BACS). For full T&Cs incl. exclusions see https://lactalispro.co.uk/terms-conditions#prize-draw

University of West London Triumphs in Zest Quest Asia 2023

University of West London have won Zest Quest Asia 2023. This marks the third time since the launch of the student culinary competition ten years ago that a team from the university’s London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism has taken first place.

The results of the live cook off and knowledge presentations that comprise the finals of Zest Quest Asia were announced at a Gala Dinner and Awards Night held at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre London Heathrow on Friday, 17^th February 2023. Some 250 guests, including representatives from colleges, industry, and the media attended the glittering evening, which included a raffle and auction to raise funds for the Todiwala Foundation.

For their efforts, Nekeshia Alcee, Olivia Parker-Smith and Prema Rebekah Kaur Sembi-Harding and their tutor, Nathan Vasanthan, bagged a trip of a lifetime – a week-long culinary and cultural journey to Bangkok, Thailand. Nathan is a seasoned Zest Quest Asia tutor, having coached and accompanied previous University of West London Zest Quest Asia champions to Manila and Hanoi.

This year, the judges were impressed by the team’s Vietnamese-inspired 4-course menu consisting of an amuse bouche of Dorset clam dumplings with Sriracha and mixed herbs; a starter of Tomato and mushroom Pho with tomato brittles; a main course of Banh chung – a Northern Vietnamese rice dish served during the Lunar Year, Lemongrass and Chilli Chicken with stir-friend broccoli stems and cabbage served with carrot, daikon and Kohlrabi pickle; and a dessert of Honteri-miso glazed sticky rice banana cake with creamy coconut sauce, roasted peanuts.

Cyrus Todiwala, co-founder with Pervin Todiwala of Zest Quest Asia, said, “This was a truly magnificent evening. After 10 years, Zest Quest Asia continues to fire the creativity and imaginations of young student chefs. People are taking Asian cuisine seriously as an artform and the performance and dedication of our finalists proves that Zest Quest Asia is making a positive difference in the perception of Asian food. Congratulations to University of West London for their fabulous hat-trick and to all the finalists who have emerged as winners as well.”

The finals drew compliments from the hospitality establishment:

Sheila Dillon, presenter of the BBC Food programme, commented on Twitter: “So heartening. So admire @chefcyrustodiw1 @mrstodiwala. They stick at it and change what needs changing – pushing high standards, creating jobs.”

Robert Richardson FIH MI, chief executive of the Institute of Hospitality, who attended the Gala Dinner and Awards Night, tweeted “A pleasure to celebrate the talent, skills and outstanding knowledge of Asian cuisine at Zest Quest Asia…congratulations to each and every finalist this evening. You are all winners!”

Other winners of the evening were:

Best Menu Planning and Presentation Award sponsored by Ian MacLeod Distillers – The Sheffield College
Best Use of Tormek Knife Sharpener Award – North Hertfordshire College
Minimum Wastage Award sponsored by McCormick – University of West London
Andrew Bennett MBE Team Work Award – University College Birmingham
Spice it Up with Schwartz Award – Cheshire College South and West
Best Use of Hallde Food Processor – North Hertfordshire College
Best Use of Panasonic Accelerated Combination Oven – University of West London
Best Use of of Mizkan Japanese Seasonings – UHI North Highland
Best Use of Tilda Rice – North Hertfordshire College
Most Sustainable Menu Award sponsored by Meiko UK – North Highland UHI (Dornoch)
Runner-Up of Zest Quest Asia 2023 – University College Birmingham

Zest Quest Asia was founded in 2013 by Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, with the support of The Master Chefs of Great Britain, to address the gaps in skills and knowledge of classical Asian cuisine and to stimulate interest in Asian cookery as a viable, long-term career.

Trading in Genuine Dining for the Spirit of Hospitality

The lengths some people go to raise money for charity is nothing less than extraordinary. In December of the this year Chris Mitchell and Robbie Laidlaw of private catering company Genuine Dining will swap suits for rowing gear and cross the Atlantic for Hospitality Action. The epic voyage will require the pair row for 3,000 miles, most of the time alone.

“We’re rowing 3,000 miles for Hospitality Action,” Mitchell told The Chefs’ Forum. “The route takes us from the Canary Islands to Antigua and we’ll be completely alone rowing two hours on and two hours off 35-50 days. We’re leaving in December to take advantage of the trade winds which will help us to make the journey. We’ve named our boat The Spirit of Hospitality.

We’re doing this to raise money for an excellent charity and it’s going to be an incredible adventure. Chefs have suffered a lot during the recent pandemic and Hospitality Action were there to support them. Now it’s time for us to give back.”

“Although our boat is filled with tech we will spend much of the time alone. It will be just us and the sea. We may see the odd freighter but the challenge will be dealing with the mental side of rowing this vast distance.”

Jonathan Parker of Foodari, one of the main sponsors of the adventure commented: “We wholeheartedly support Chris and Robbie at this difficult time for chefs. Hospitality Action do a great job and we’re only too pleased to help.”

Catherine Farinha added: “At The Chefs’ Forum we are all about helping anyone in hospitality to shine whether it’s college students, chefs of any rank or experience and front of house staff. We fully support this great cause and are hoping to get Chris and Robbie to talk at some of our events. We wish them all the best.”

From Japan to… Latvia!

The Chefs’ Forum is spreading its wings across the globe and working with international partners to share the culinary skill of UK chefs in new ways. Last month The Chefs’ Forum was in Japan visiting the Fukushima reactor and this month we went to Latvia and Lithuania where three chef stars showed-off their skills to a new, and receptive, audience.

At a special event put on by the largest and longest-serving Baltic supplier Reaton in Riga, chefs Hywel Griffith (Beach House Oxwich) and Simon Wood (Wood Restaurant) shared their experiences of cooking at the top- level, showcasing their admirable culinary skill-set. Hywel Griffith cooked roasted veal chop with sweetbread and cep mushroom as well as roast loin of red deer with carrot and caraway puree.

Hywel is a stalwart proponent of meat and game and prides himself on innovating the finest flavour combinations, that have led him to both attain and retain a Michelin Star for the past three years. This is the fist year that the highly-coveted and respected Michelin Guide and reviewers have come to Latvia, hence the reason why The Chefs’ forum was invited to introduce Latvian chefs to a UK chef who has managed to gain a star outside of 5-star hotels in London, rather at a costal dining destination in Swansea, with sustainability and provenance at the epicentre of everything they do.

Hywel said

“The produce was great and there was an exciting vibe about this brilliant event to celebrate 30 years of Reaton for Latvian chefs suppliers and buyers. I was delighted to give the chefs from the Baltics tips, on how I worked my socks off, to gain my Michelin star for Beach House and also, most importantly, the ways in which to retain it. Great ingredients, provenance, meticulous attention to detail, innovation, creativity and passion is what it takes and wish my fellow chef peers in Riga and beyond, all the very best of luck in gaining well-deserved Michelin recognition.”

Simon Wood cooked salt and pepper prawns with toast and cavolo nori as well as turbot with coconut, continuing his journey of promoting Royal Greenland as a much-valued National Sponsor of The Chefs’ Forum in the UK…meanwhile in Latvia, he said

“It was fantastic to meet Royal Greenland Country Manager for Finland, Jarmo Eklund at our ‘post show’ suppliers’ dinner at Reaton HQ in Riga. Their prawns are superb and the Turbot that I had the privilege of cooking with on stage in Latvia was one of the largest and finest I’ve ever seen – The fact that they have been in business together for the past three decades speaks for itself! I strongly believe in using the highest quality ingredients and incorporating them in an exciting tasting menu, so that my guests at Wood Restaurant can experience a culinary journey, that is not too filling, rather excites and thrills in every course. I’m really looking forward to continuing to champion Royal Greenland halibut and their exciting array seafood species and the hard work that goes into safeguarding the integrity of the produce.”

The previous week, chef Ping Coombes (MasterChef winner) took part in a similar event in Lithuania showcasing Asian food, she said

“Being invited to showcase Asian cuisine in Latvia was really exciting and interesting, especially as my genre of cuisine, although massively popular in the UK is relatively undiscovered or incorporated into menus in the Baltic states. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Lithuanian chefs and Reaton Development chef Edgars, we all have a common love of food and it’s great to be able to introduce my dishes and Asian cooking techniques and flavours to fellow culinary peers across the globe – My happy place indeed!”

Vija Tirzmale, Head of Brand Development for Reaton in the Baltics said

“Good food is made by good people and I strongly believe in that. By inviting top chefs over to Latvia from the UK we achieved something I’ve always wanted – exporting our great culinary talent and working with some of the best ingredients in the world – like the prawns from Royal Greenland which were on hand for Simon to work with.”

Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum concluded

“In Riga at the Reaton Professional Day, our chefs were able to explain how they cook at the very top level and found a very receptive audience keen to learn how its done in the UK – which is now one of the top culinary destinations in the world. At The Chefs’ Forum we are delighted to be able to work alongside the students who will become the next top chefs and to be able to take top chefs abroad to show them new things. Simon and Hywel presented in panel discussions around sustainability, labour and food waste.”

The Chefs’ Forum team is very much looking forward to participating in similar events moving forward and would welcome invitations to collaborate with any global food brand looking to partner with UK chefs and hospitality professionals.

Students Cook up Four-course Feast with Exose Grant

The Maya Sous Chef guided Hospitality & Catering students through a sold-out event.

Promising young chefs at The Manchester College have shared a kitchen with one of the country’s leading professionals, in conjunction with the Chefs’ Forum Academy

Students at the College’s Industry Excellence Academy for Hospitality & Catering worked alongside Exose Grant, new Maya Sous Chef and finalist of ‘Masterchef: The Professionals’, to put on a four-course dinner plus drinks and canapés.

Such was the excitement around the event on 8 February, which was held at 1853 restaurant at the College’s City Campus Manchester, tickets for the evening sold out in record time.

Featuring dishes such as seaweed butter poached halibut and lemon meringue mille feuille, Exose and the students took advantage of the College’s state-of-the-art kitchen facilities to create a delicious menu.

“Working with The Chefs’ Forum our students are able to gain experience of working with top-professionals to really take their skills to the next level.” commented Christine Kenyon, Deputy Principal at The Manchester College. “Nights such as these, where they put their skills to the test in a professional setting, are vital to ensuring they are ready to start a career once they complete their studies with us.”

Incredibly generous with his time, the event was the latest way Exose Grant has supported The Manchester College. He holds regular masterclasses on campus as well as involving students in external events, such as the recent Chefs’ Forum Manchester Chefs’ Lunch at Ducie Street Warehouse.

Exose said: “I enjoy this so much, I only wish I had these fantastic opportunities to work with top chefs when I was at college. I just love giving back to the community and seeing how much the students get out of being involved in events like this. It is also fantastic that I get to keep in touch with my former lecturer Mark Cooper, who I’ve always greatly looked up to and support him in enriching the learning of the students at The Manchester College.

“The new City Centre campus is absolutely amazing and the kitchens, world class – I’m honoured to be the first chef to host a guest chef evening at the college this year and look forward to attending similar evenings hosted by my chef peers and culinary legends.”

Chefs’ Forum director Catherine Farinha added: “We are delighted to be growing our partnership with The Manchester College and help them to enable their students to get a proper feel of working in professional hospitality.

“This is the first in a series of fantastic guest chef nights to be held at the college. Simon Wood of Wood Restaurant and Doug Crampton of James Martin Manchester will also be cooking with the students in the brand-new college kitchens and restaurant at the City Campus Manchester.

“One of the main areas we are working on is to help make the College restaurant profitable and give students a real-life service with real guests. It’s amazing to sell out all 45 covers.

“By working with sponsors, we can drive down food costs and bring in top class ingredients that students haven’t worked with before. For this series we are working with Meat & Livestock Australia, Royal Greenland and Dole Foodservice.”

Find out more about Hospitality & Catering courses at The Manchester College and apply today.

Photo credit: Kath Symes

Taste the Difference

The Hospitality and Catering Department at Langley College in Berkshire welcomed 180 students from 10 local feeder schools to a special industry taster day on Tuesday 7th February.

Four top chefs were on hand to deliver masterclasses and give an insight into professional catering and hospitality.

After a canapé and mocktail reception the students enjoyed a pasta making and cookery demonstration led by Chris Hannon, Executive Chef at nearby Cliveden House.

This led on to a bakery class on kneading the perfect loaf by Piotr Lesnianski from The Gatsby Restaurant.

Piotr said “I really enjoy events like this, it is so great to see the students listening intently to the demonstrations and I was very impressed with how quickly the students got to grips with helping me to make corn tortillas on the demo stage. They really are very lucky to have a fantastic college like Langley on the doorstep and some great chefs coming in to offer curriculum enrichment.”

Fresh from escorting The Chefs’ Forum round Japan, sushi master Keiko Urakawa took the students through the preparation of sushi before chef Louise Wagstaffe created desserts.

If that wasn’t enough the students then decorated eclairs which are featured in The Chefs’ Knowledge, our latest book.

The food and drink was kindly sponsored by First Choice Produce, Premier Foods and Holdsworth

Anne Entwistle, Principal of Langley College said: “It was lovely to welcome so many aspiring chefs to our campus. The taster day is a great way to introduce students to the practicalities of catering. They really enjoyed meeting the professional chefs and sampling all the food.

Following the successful launch of our hospitality and catering course this year we will soon be introducing two new apprenticeships for anybody hoping to be a commis or a production chef. These courses have been created with the support of employers to fill the skills gaps and staffing needs of our local community.’’

Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “At The Chefs’ Forum we love teaching catering and hospitality through our Academies. Taster days are a part of that and it was thrilling to see so many young and eager faces enjoy the programme and get to see what goes on in professional kitchens.”

Photography and film by www.johnscottblackwell.co.uk

2023 Student Pastry Chef of the Year is Open for Entries!

Take your pastry to the next level and enter our brilliant student pastry chef competition and win big at the same time. The competition is now in its third year and those that enter will be competing in front of the finest pastry chefs in the country. Both Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin from Bake Off: The Professionals are part of the judging panel.

The shortage of highly-skilled young pastry chefs is well documented, so it is our intention to showcase the great student and apprentice talent within the UK’s colleges, learning providers and universities. We also want to showcase the creative and highly rewarding career opportunities available to a wider audience.

The preliminary round is in writing. We need:

A brief CV and a short introduction about yourself (100-150 words).
Three photos of either plated desserts, cakes and/or decorative items you have produced.
A description outlining why you wish to enter the competition. This can be presented on video or in writing.

Timeline

Friday 3rd March at 17:00 – Closing date for the preliminary round.
Monday 13th March – The successful student pastry chefs progressing to the semi-finals will be notified by email, with details of the requirements for the semi-final task.
Friday 31st March at 17:00 – Submission deadline for the semi-final task: From the 20 semi-finalists, the judging team will select the top 8 entries to progress to the grand final.
Monday 17th April – Announcement of the 8 finalists. Wednesday 10th May – Grand Final, live at West London College.

Meet the Judges

Michael Kwan – Executive Pastry Chef at The Dorchester and UK Pastry Team
Chris Underwood – Artisserie
Michael D’Angelo – Head Pastry Chef at Louie London
Franciane Tartari – Executive Pastry Chef at Amazonico
Daniel Pearse – Executive Pastry Chef at Rhubarb
Enrico Carloni – Head Pastry Chef at The Peninsula
Biju Joshwa – Executive Pastry Chef at Sheraton Grand Park Lane
Cherish Finden – Executive Pastry Chef at Pan Pacific/Bake Off: The Professionals Judge
Nelson Sa – Head Pastry Chef at South Place
Thibault Hauchard – Executive Pastry Chef at Claridge’s
Benoit Blin – Executive Pastry Chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons/Bake Off: The Professionals Judge