Celebrated chefs set to visit Grimsby to judge seafood chef of the year
RICK STEIN AMONG THE TOP TALENT JUDGING COMPETITION
CELEBRATED seafood chef, Rick Stein will be in Grimsby this week to judge the prestigious National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition.
It is back on this year after restrictions due to coronavirus and will celebrate its 25th anniversary year with a glittering gala dinner and grand final. Both events will be attended and judged respectively by several celebrity chefs.
The gala dinner will be held at the University Centre Grimsby on Thursday with the grand final taking place the following day on Friday.
Over the history of the competition, several prominent chefs have supported the young talent and this year the institute said it is delighted to welcome chefs, Rick Stein, Mark Hix, Nathan Outlaw and Mitch Tonks to the esteemed panel of judges.
The competition is renowned across the seafood industry for the experience it gives to participants; providing the young chefs, who compete with a platform to display their knowledge, skills and talent for preparing and cooking seafood from sustainable sources.
It has continued to grow over the years, gaining support from a variety of industry partners and building a reputation for excellence.
This year’s competition is sponsored by Young’s Seafood, Seafish, Pace, Oak Ridge Group, Rockfish, A Passion to Inspire, First Contact Chefs and the Good Fish Guide.
Simon Smith, chief executive at
Young’s Seafood, said: “At Young’s we’re extremely proud of our Grimsby roots and so we are delighted to support the National Seafood Chef of the Year, something we have done since the first competition 25 years ago.
“We’re looking forward to visiting the University Centre in Grimsby for the competition’s gala dinner and the grand final and meeting with the competitors, judges and other attendees. “Best of luck to all of the finalists.” This year, further education colleges from across the country including Sunderland College, Newcastle College, Northumberland College, City College Norwich, City of Westminster College, Hackney College, University College Birmingham, Exeter College and Llandrillo College (Coleg Llandrillo) will be competing for the prestigious title.
Paul Robinson, associate principal for commercial enterprise, said: “This event has been a long time coming. It was a wish list to see Rick Stein, Mark Hix, Nathan Outlaw and Mitch Tonks all together to support the competition in its 25th year. I never thought this would be possible.
“These legends have lived and breathed the seafood industry for their entire careers, and it is inspirational for so many chefs to see how much passion these guys have for the industry.
“We are privileged to have such an event here at The Grimsby Institute supported by colleagues at Scarbrough TEC and East Riding College.
“This is a once in a lifetime event for all involved and I am very proud of my team and to have been part of this historical event.”