Top chefs Paul Merrett and Pierre Koffman to judge Fuller’s Chef of the Year contest

Twelve chef finalists from across the London-based pub company's managed estate will face off at a final held at Hospitality House in East Finchley, London, on 14 April.

Applicants for the competition had to devise a three-course menu incorporating three main ingredients; Cornish Orchard cured and smoked sea trout, saddle (including offal) of spring lamb and rhubarb.

The competition will give the company’s best chefs the opportunity to display their passion and skills, said Paul Dickinson, Fuller’s head of food.

Impressed

"I am very impressed by the passion and work each of the finalists has done on their entries. The standards are very high and we now have a very serious competition on our hands," he added.

Competing chefs will be split into two categories – under-25s and over-25s – for the final. Under-25s will have to prepare one main and one pudding each in one hour and 15 minutes, while over-25s will have one hour and 45 minutes to prepare the full three courses.

The food will be presented to a panel of judges including Pierre Koffman, whose former restaurant held three Michelin stars, celebrity chef Paul Merrett, Andy Milner of Owtons butchers and representatives from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the Publican's Morning Advertiser (PMA).

Winners

The winners will receive a six-day trip to Dubai to work with Tristan Farmer, chef-patron of Jason Atherton-owned restaurant Marine Social, as well as spending two days with Darren Velvick of the Croft restaurant and a tour of some of Dubai's best eateries.

Fuller's Chef of the Year winners will be announced at the company's managers' conference on 10 May.

The company was, this month, named as Best Pub Employer (51+ sites) at the 25^th anniversary of the Publican Awards.

It currently operates its own internal training and development programme for chefs, called the Chef's Guild.

Dickinson previously told the Publican's Morning Advertiser: "The hospitality industry is like a sport – you need a team and an ethos. We all work hard, but without the people, we are nothing."