The team made up of Charlotte Crudgington and Shannon Crowe were one of nine teams to go to the final, after competing in the regional heat of the UK-wide competition at University College Birmingham.
The young chefs took part in the final on Friday 10 June at the Grimsby Institute, in Lincolnshire, where they were asked to create a new three course meal from scratch using species specifically chosen for them.
The judges praised the team’s excellent skills and level of confidence in the kitchen and said that the dishes produced at this year’s final were exceptional.
Prizes included £500 for each team member, a Thermomix TM31 food processor and a £1,000 voucher for Westminster Kingsway College to spend on Russums catering equipment.
Highly regarded across the seafood industry for the valuable experience it gives to contestants, the competition’s 2016 panel included some of the country’s most successful chefs.
Cyrus Todiwala, widely known for his Pan-Asian cuisine, was on hand at the final to provide expert culinary advice. He was joined by celebrity barbeque chef, Ben Bartlett, and Italian food connoisseur Valentina Harris. Gastronomic genius, Franck Pontais, alongside Serge Nollent, executive development chef at Young’s and Nikki Hawkins, events manager at Seafish were also there to put the contestants through their paces.
Charlotte commented on winning the competition, he said: “We still can’t quite believe we managed to win the whole thing, it’s an amazing feeling.
Shannon added: “We were so excited to cook for the judges again and we’re glad we did Westminster Kingsway College proud by winning the whole competition.”
Nikki Hawkins, events manager at Seafish, said: “The UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition is an excellent platform for young chefs to showcase their culinary skills while receiving credible industry feedback.
“We would like to congratulate the team from Westminster Kingsway College again, and wish all of our finalists the very best of luck for the future. We look forward to seeing what mark they make on the seafood industry in the years to come.”
In recent years, the competition has seen backing from chefs including Aiden Byrne, Jean-Christophe Novelli, Tom Aitkens, Mitch Tonks and Atul Kochhar.
This year, it also sees sponsorship from leading brands and organisations including Seafish, Young’s, Thermomix, Russums, Oak Ridge Group, and Royal Greenland.
