ONE of Northamptonshire’s rising culinary talents has enjoyed the foodie experience of a lifetime after being named Booker Young Chef of the Year in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2016/17.
Sebastian McLean from Northampton spent two days in London feeling the heat of the kitchen in a pair of the city’s most exciting eateries, Lyles and Dabbous, having won the prize generously provided by category sponsor Booker Wholesale, the UK’s leading food and drink wholesaler.
Lyles, led by chef James Lowe, opened in 2014 and was immediately voted the One to Watch at the 2014 Restaurant Magazine Awards, achieving a Michelin star the following year, while Dabbous, which was opened by Ollie Dabbous two years earlier, was named ‘a game-changer’ by none other than Fay Maschler, restaurant critic of London’s Evening Standard and saw extra staff being brought in to man the phones, such was the flurry of booking enquiries.
Sebastian, who now works at Rushton Hall in Rushton, spent two years living in Africa where he honed his passion for hospitality and catering as a hotel and lodge manager in Malawi before returning to his home town to complete his professional chef’s diploma at Northampton College.
It was there that Sebastian sailed through the semi-final cook-off last summer to secure his place in the cook-off final at Corby’s Tresham College back in September, at which he beat off competition from four others, impressing the judges with his calmness under pressure as he prepared his main course of Asian-style tofu followed by chocolate mousse.
Having entered other competitions, Sebastian says he was thrilled not only to have won the title but also to have received his trophy from none other than Michel Roux OBE at the prestigious awards dinner held in November and clearly his prize was the icing on the cake.
He said: “The long hours make this industry tough to work in at the start but watching such talented chefs as Ollie and James in action has really inspired me to be as good as I can be and shown me that, with effort, you can make it to the top.
“Indeed, apart from looking great on my CV, the whole process of the awards was great fun, while the challenge of doing something competitive like this was also exciting so I’d urge the county’s chefs to make sure they don’t miss such a great opportunity.”
With the ninth year of the competition now under way, Awards Director Rachel Mallows is also encouraging others to consider getting involved, saying: “We are most grateful to Booker for providing Sebastian with such a wonderful prize and clearly, that experience that will live long in his memory.
“As well as the increase in publicity that success in the competition can bring, we are also confident in securing a similar exciting culinary opportunity for this year’s winner so would heartily recommended that the county’s chefs make sure get their entry form in before the deadline later this month.”
In addition to the Booker Young Chef of the Year, the Chef of the Year category (sponsored by Dawn Farms and Cordant People and aimed at chefs aged 25 and above) is offering the winner the chance to spend the day with John Williams MBE, Executive Chef at The Ritz. The closing date for both categories is 19 June.
For more details, including to download the entry forms for those and all the categories in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2017/18, visit the awards website www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk
Meanwhile, to recommend your favourite pub, restaurant, or spice restaurant, or to put forward a nomination in the Healthy Eating Workplace, Independent Cafe /Tea Room or Weetabix Local Food Hero categories, contact Rachel Mallows on 01933 664437 or email rachel@themallowscompany.com
You can also follow the Awards on twitter at @foodawardsHQ or on Facebook at facebook.com/foodawards
