Next month sees the national final of the Chaîne Young Commis Chef Competition held this year at Le Cordon Bleu cookery school, London.

Now in its 34th year, this prestigious competition, organised by the international gastronomic society Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in association with Gaggenau, will see the country’s leading young commis chefs competing for the title of Great Britain’s Young Commis Chef of the Year under the scrutiny of a high-profile panel of judges - all chefs of international repute.

Philip Evins, Head of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in Great Britain says: “The Chaîne believes very strongly that the encouragement and training of young professionals is absolutely key to ensuring future standards and the ability for them to measure their progress against their peers gives them great feedback.”

The exhilarating competition has been designed to test the young commis chefs’ culinary knowledge, originality and skill whilst leaving them the freedom to express their ideas by menu balance, flair, technique and that all important ability to ‘think-on-your-feet’. All candidates must be under 27 years of age to compete, representing the crème of the industry’s young talent.

Gaggenau continues its partnership of the competition this year, sharing Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ commitment to encouraging the aspirations of young professionals and nurturing young talent. “We’re here to support the future of these up-and-coming chefs and share in their passion to push boundaries within the kitchen and cuisine arena so partnering with the Chaîne on this initiative is a natural fit.” says Helen Shaw, Marketing Manager of Gaggenau.

Each contestant is given an identical, previously undisclosed ‘market basket’ containing basic ingredients. Using these ingredients, plus a variety of staple ingredients from the pantry, contestants have just three and a half hours to compose and execute a three-course menu for four covers.

The panel of judges, headed by Lesley Gray, Conseiller Culinaire and Principal of Le Cordon Bleu, includes Anton Mosimann and Anthony Marshall (a former winner of the competition himself, 30 years ago). They will assess competitors on a 0-10 points system for taste, presentation and originality.

To ensure total impartiality, a strict blind judging procedure is adopted whereby at no time will the judges come into contact with the competitors, who are identified by their kitchen station numbers only.

All competitors taking part in the final will be awarded the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs (GB) Young Commis Chef Competition Gold Medal. The winner will fly to New York in October to represent Great Britain at the international heat of the competition competing against other winners of national finals in countries across the globe to win the title of Chaîne des Rôtisseurs International Young Commis Chef 2009 and professional entry into the society.

For further details please visit the Young Commis Chefs section of our website, or download the full press release:

Download the Young Commis Chef of the Year Competition 2009 – Press Release (.PDF 350KB)