City College Plymouth Chef crowned Winner of Electrolux Chef Academy 2013

An aspiring young chef from City College Plymouth has won a place in the Electrolux Chef Academy 2013, winning a 12 month fully-funded work placement in three of the country’s top Michelin star restaurants.

Jonah Kellar, 18, a 3^rd year chef graduate at City College Plymouth, along with Viktoria Bernataviciute, of Northampton College and Giuseppe Giorgio Finocchio, of Westminster Kingsway College, beat other finalists to win three coveted roles, which will see each of them spend 12 months working with Michelin Chefs Tom Kitchin, Simon Hulstone and Jonray and Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, on a rotational basis in their respective restaurants.

Following a gruelling semi-final at the Electrolux Training Academy, just seven young hopefuls were selected to attend the grand final, competing as individuals but working together in teams to create a three course meal for the esteemed judging panel. Each student used their skills and techniques learnt at college, to prove their ability to work within a team and handle the pressure of a professional kitchen.

Michelin star chef Nigel Haworth, CEO of the Craft Guild of Chefs Martin Bates and Electrolux Professional’s Andy Blakemore were all given the difficult task of judging the young chefs, led by the expertise of seasoned competition chef, Simon Hulstone.

Simon Hulstone said: “Individually the three winners were all excellent but ultimately they came together well in their team and showed stand out qualities such as skill, determination and good attitude that would be perfectly suited in any kitchen brigade.”

Jonah will now go on to spend 12 months rotating between three of the country’s top Michelin star restaurants – The Kitchin in Edinburgh, The Elephant in Torquay and Casamia in Bristol.

Jonah said: “I’m completely blown away; words can’t describe what I’m feeling right now. It will be fantastic to work with Simon Hulstone, the Sanchez brothers and Tom Kitchin and have the opportunity to learn from them in their kitchens. It’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

Vanessa Holloway, Marketing Manager for Electrolux, commented: “Electrolux has been supporting professional kitchens for nearly a century with our appliances. Naturally, we are proud to have launched Electrolux Chef Academy sharing our extensive expertise to create these kinds of life-changing opportunities to aspiring young chefs. The success of the academy is about getting the right people together from industry and education to deliver a credible learning platform with true integrity.

“The final challenge was a difficult one – the finalists had to create and deliver a three-course meal to a table of Michelin star chefs and renowned industry experts. Jonah particularly impressed the judges with his skills, attitude and ability to keep calm in a high-pressure situation. We wish him every success on his placement and Electrolux will be supporting him every step of the way”.

As part of Jonah’s prize, City College Plymouth will also receive an Electrolux Professional Touchline Combi-Steam oven to help train future chef students.

The Electrolux Chef Academy final was held at DSI Foods Limited, a catering business in central London that creates first class menus for major airlines in a professional development kitchen. DSI is a key partner of Electrolux and supporter of the Electrolux Chef Academy.