Charlotte Vincent has been the head chef at Somerset pub the Candlelight Inn since May 2023 and made her television debut on BBC2’s Great British Menu in 2022.
She was one of three chefs in the finals, who battled it out in a live cook off during the Great British Pub Awards event on Tuesday 19 September.
Judges for the cook off were chef-patron of the Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland, Lancashire Stosie Madi as well as chef-patron of the Unruly Pig in Bromeswell, Suffolk Dave Wall alongside Booker Group sales director Leigh Booker.
Great technique
Her dedication to technique and reducing waste while creating her lamb-based dish impressed the judges.
Stosie Madi said: “It was delightful watching Charlotte work. She displayed great technique and confidence during the competition.
“A great sauce makes a dish and she made sure she produced a stunning sauce and in such little time too.
“The extensive use of herbs with the lamb and in the sauce made the dish sing. Apart from creating an excellent dish Charlotte also showcase sustainability in a kitchen by using all her waste trimmings and peel in her brilliant sauce. An absolute joy to watch.”
Astonishing flavour
The chef cooked with seasoned composure, focus and grace under the time-pressured environment, according to Dave Wall.
He added: “She worked with razor sharp efficiency, clean as a whistle but never stopped moving.
“Her sauce was absolutely wonderful, one that you would have been proud to have produced with hours of love, but she somehow managed to achieve in a mere 45 minutes- incredible!
“And the flavour that she managed to squeeze into the lamb was astonishing, this was seriously accomplished cooking from a real talent.”
Full list of 2023 GBPA winners:
Great British Pub of the Year 2023 – the Cholmondeley Arms, Malpas, Cheshire
Best City/Urban Pub – the Turks Head, Twickenham, Greater London
Best Country/Rural Pub – the Cholmondeley Arms, Malpas, Cheshire
Best Pub for Food – the Loch & The Tyne, Old Windsor, Berkshire
Best Pub for Dogs – the Bellflower, Garstang, Lancashire
Best Pub for Families – the Plough, Normanton on the Wolds, Nottinghamshire
Best Pub for Entertainment – the Kings Arms, Bexleyheath, south east London
Best Pub Garden – Gaggle of Geese, Buckland Newton, Dorset
Best Pub to Watch Sport – the Royal Dyche, Burnley, Lancashire
Best Sustainable Pub – Stroud Brewery Taproom, Stroud, Gloucestershire
Best Pub Chef – Charlotte Vincent, Candlelight Inn, Chard, Somerset
Best Young Pub Chef – Karl Quirante, the Cricketers, Ormskirk, Lancashire
Community Hero – the Old Abbey Taphouse, Manchester
Admiral Pub of the Year – Boot & Shoe, Ackworth, Pontefract, West Yorkshire
Stonegate Pub of the Year – the Woodman, Ruislip, north west London
Greene King Pub of the Year – the Stag, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Marston’s Pub of the Year – Rose & Crown, Worcester, Worcestershire
Punch Pub of the Year – the Plough, Prestbury, Gloucestershire
