23-year old Charles “Gordon” Stott, landlord and chef patron of the Sun Inn, Basingstoke, will run the contest at Basingstoke College of Technology, where competing students will face off in at the end of June.
Stott said: “With over 15% of the UK’s 16-24 year olds currently unemployed it’s not easy for young people leaving college and hoping for a stable job in the industry – having been there myself, I want to show young chefs that with self-belief, hard work and determination they can also achieve great things.”
Trial by fire
Contestants will demonstrate their kitchen skills for Stott by preparing a two-course meal for guests of Hampshire homeless charity the Society of St. James.
Diners will then donate however much they think the meal was worth to the charity.
The winner will be named as the Sun Inn’s Master Chef 2015 and receive a prize from catering equipment supplier Nisbets as well as a meal for two at a Michelin-starred restaurant.
Duncan Brammall, head of hospitality and catering at Basingstoke College of Technology, said: “[The College] has a long tradition of entering our learners in competitions.
“The Sun Inn Masterchef competition will provide our learners with the opportunity to show off their culinary skills, so the heat will definitely be on in our kitchens and hopefully this experience will provide a valuable springboard for our students as they progress from college into the world of work and full time employment.”
Stott, who joined the Sun Inn in 2010 before being made head chef less than two years later, was recently shortlisted for the Craft Guild of Chefs Pub Chef of the Year 2015.