Plated, a new competition to support the next generation of chefs, has been launched by County Durham-based Goodfellow & Goodfellow and North Yorkshire-based TRUEfoods – with a £10,000 prize pot up for grabs.
The competition aims to give young chefs in the North East and beyond a national platform to showcase their talent and creative skills – and has already been backed by Michelin-starred chefs including Jason Atherton, who will sit on the judging panel.
Valda and Paul Goodfellow, founders of Goodfellow & Goodfellow, and TRUEfoods managing director Mitch Mitchell want to provide younger chefs with the opportunity to showcase their love and passion for creative plating.
“In our experience, it’s only the chefs at the top that get any profile. We think there’s a really exciting next generation of chefs out there – and we want to give them the opportunity to be seen on the national stage,” said Valda.
“We want to give them that visibility early on and get them involved in something that’s high profile. This isn’t just about fine dining, this is about people who put a lot of effort into how their food looks on the plate, whether that’s Indian food, French food, modern British, or casual dining – you can still make food look beautiful on the plate.”
Professional chefs who meet the eligibility criteria – which include being aged 30 or under and being from the UK – are encouraged to submit their best photos of plated dishes by March 10.
The judging panel, which also includes Spencer Metzger, executive head chef of Row On 5Jason, along with Valda, Paul and Mitch – with more to be announced – will whittle down applicants to six finalists.
A live-streamed cook-off with the finalists will take place at TRUEfoods’ development kitchen in Ripon, North Yorkshire on April 26.
The winner will receive £7,500 cash, a paid-for trip to Costa Nova’s manufacturing plant in Portugal, a Michelin-starred dining experience in Portugal, a photoshoot to feature in G&G’s Portfolio industry publication, and a decorated trophy plate.
Paul, co-founder of G&G, which operates from County Durham and London, said: “It can be quite simple but the love and care to make it look beautiful is what we’re after. It could be a simple scallop, but we want it to look great and some people have that care and attention to detail and some people don’t. Talent has to have a platform somewhere and we want to be part of that and show that we care about the next generation coming through, give them more of an opportunity to show how good they are and do something fun and creative.”
Chefs can submit three entries, with three images or videos allowed for each.
Mitch said: “We’re encouraging all chefs who meet the eligibility criteria to step up to the plate and showcase their talent. We hope to be inspired and delighted by creative plating skills in the first stage of the competition – and the final will be a real test of plating expertise and taste.”
Chefs can submit their entries by emailing plated@goodf.co.uk
All terms and conditions, as well as eligibility and guidance on submissions, can be found at www.goodf.co.uk/blog/plated-competition/
