Winner of Coeliac UK’s Gluten-free Chef of the Year competition 2011 crowned

Following 90 minutes of intense cooking, Jason Church from Surrey was chosen as the Gluten-free Chef of the Year - topping his performance last year when he was runner up in the competition and, student Valerio Grimaldi-Plant was chosen as the Up and Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year. For the second year, the competition was run in association with the Institute of Hospitality and the Craft Guild of Chefs and with Unilever Foodsolutions UK & Ireland who made their culinary business development kitchens in Leatherhead available for the live cook off. The competition, to design a three course gluten-free meal, aims to raise awareness and highlight the need for increased provision of gluten-free menu options for the 1 in 100 people in the UK with coeliac disease. There were two categories; Gluten-free Chef of the Year, for professional chefs and Up and Coming Gluten-free Chef of the Year, for catering students under 23. Entrants were required to submit a three course gluten-free menu demonstrating both creativity and a clear understanding of what people with coeliac disease would like to see on a menu when eating out. The three finalists from each category then had to cook their menu live for celebrity chef and Coeliac UK Food Ambassador, Phil Vickery, and a panel of judges, including Adam Gray, The Red Lion and Shires Cookery School and Daniel Ayton, Crowne Plaza London Saint James & Taj 51 Buckingham Gate. Mr Church, who joined Morgan Stanley in Canary Wharf as their head chef only last week and who also has just set up his own fine dining business called RED wins a one week placement at Gleneagles with twice Michelin star chef, Andrew Fairlie. Valerio Grimaldi-Plant, from Wolston near Coventry who is studying VRQ level 2 Diploma in professional cookery at Stratford-upon-Avon College in Rugby wins a one week placement at Pennyhill Park working under Michelin star chef, Michael Wignall. All six finalists were also presented with a year's membership of the Craft Guild of Chefs and gift vouchers from Sodexo. Vickery said: "Congratulations to all of this year's winners, they cooked some fantastic dishes! I was very impressed by the exceptional standard this year which was higher than in the previous year. "It is wonderful to see chefs at all stages of their career with such a passion and enthusiasm to embrace the gluten-free diet and the needs of those diagnosed with coeliac disease and I hope that they will all continue developing further gluten-free dishes in their repertoire and spread the message to their colleagues and colleges."