Designed to “ccelebrate the rich vein of young culinary talent in the UK,” the annual contest is now in its seventh year and showcases the “dedication and skillful chefs in the UK.”
Impressing with their paper entry, which had to include a traditional street-food dish and a main course of their choice served in a bowl, this year’s finalists are:
• OPUS
• Dine Contract Catering
• Saunton Sands
• The ICC (Amadeus)
• De Montford University (Compass)
• University College Birmingham - 2 contestants
• JLR Solihull (Compass)
• North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College - 2 contestants
• South and City College Bournville
• The Belfry
• Manor House Hotel and Golf Club
• House of Commons
They will go head-to-head during a live cook-off 4 April at University College Birmingham, where they will battle to impress judges for the £750 cash prize and stage with MasterChef finalist, Larkin Cen, at his restaurant Woky Ko.
Judges include: chef and Woky Ko founder, Larkin Cen; British Culinary Federation president, Peter Griffiths; and Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell.
Wing Yip director, Ennevor Yap, said: “We always have fantastic support across the UK from young chefs and their mentors, and this year was no exception.
“The calibre of entries was extremely high, so we’re expecting this year to be a very exciting competition.
“It was a carefully considered process selecting the 14 candidates who are now through to the cook off and we wish them all the best of luck in the final.
“It makes us very proud to have watched the competition grow over the past seven years and gain recognition amongsso many talented young chefs from across the industry.
“The competition offers young chefs the opportunity to immerse themselves in Oriental cooking and gain valuable experience by cooking for our prestigious judges.
“Each year the competition continues to attract talented chefs and we look forward to seeing the dishes come to life on the day.”