Foods from Spain, the initiative to promote Spanish food in the UK, has announced the winners of its Spanish Young Chef of the Year competition.
Held each year, the competition encourages chefs up to the age of 25 to explore and experiment with Spanish fresh produce and other Spanish ingredients. Dishes inspired by Spanish cuisine are encouraged and each course must feature one ingredient from strawberries or raspberries, picota cherries or persimon, and rice or pulses.
Ben Murphy, of Koffman's at the Berkeley, took first prize in this year's competition, with William Chilila of the Orrery restaurant and Billy Stock of the Opera Tavern taking second and third place respectively, holding off competition from six other finalists in the cook-off stage of the competition following a paper-based first round.
As well as taking the title of Spanish Young Chef of the Year 2012, Murphy won a week in the kitchens of Akelare, one of the few restaurants in Spain to hold three Michelin stars, under renowned chef Pedro Subijana.
'The quality of this year's finalists has been outstanding,' said María José Sevilla, director of Foods from Spain. 'It's great to see young chefs taking inspiration of Spanish cooking and ingredients to produce such superb dishes.
'We were very impressed by Ben's menu and knowledge of Spanish cuisine,' Sevilla added. 'I'm sure his placement at Akelare will be both enjoyable and beneficial to his career and we wish him every success in the future.'
The judging panel was made up of Sevilla, chef and author Peter Gordon, president of the Guild of Food Writers Jane Suthering, and chef lecturer José Souto.
The competition was sponsored by LA Organic and Endor Gourmet Foods, who provided ingredients for the cook off. Foods from Spain expects to launch the Spanish Young Chef of the Year 2013 competition later this year.
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