Hungry for more?

Awards and competitions can bring rich rewards and open important doors to chefs sharp enough to win them. But how do you increase your chances of victory?

Little wonder then that chef’s competitions are thriving. From head-to-head battle, such as National Chef of the Year, and new talent searches like the Roux and Ramsay scholarships, to the team events like Restaurant magazine’s own College Restaurant of the Year, there’s a competition out there to suit every student or professional chef, whatever their abilities or aspirations.

The Question is: do you have the cojones? “I went in there strong, hard and fast” says Sat Bains, of his 1999 Roux scholarship victory, making it sound more like an SAS operation than a classical French cookery competition. Similarly, Eyck Zimmer – who has won the Knorr National Chef of the Year and the Master of Culinary Arts – reckons that only certain, steely chefs can handle competitions like National Chef, in which they’re asked to create dishes against the clock from mystery ingredients. “It’s so hyped up I wouldn’t describe it as ‘fun’. There are some bigwig chefs out there who just aren’t competition chefs, because they can’t perform under that pressure: being judged, having top chefs watching over our shoulder. They cramp up.”

When Zimmer first got into competitions, he had a point to prove. Namely the chefs working in contract catering, as he was at the time, were often just as gifted, individually, as their more glamorous restaurant rivals. To thrive in a competition environment, away from your team, your kitchen and your own ingredients, you have to have a “natural talent and understanding of flavours”.

Down on the relative nursery slopes of the Roux and Ramsay scholarships, competitions are a useful way for young chefs to announce themselves into the industry. The Roux, in particular, is not just a prestigious bump to any CV (Sat Bains was 28 and unemployed when he won it), but it opens up membership of an elite club. For instance, Roux scholars get together for trips to Tuscany or Dubai. “It’s like joining the family,” says co-ordinator Alison Jee. “Scholars know they can contact the Rouxs at any stage and ask for guidance.”

But how do you win? Contrary to official advice, Bains didn’t practice his Roux dish. “I’m not good at doing something over and over. You’ve got to feel it. It’s off-the-cuff cuisine.”

Zimmer, meanwhile, who has also completed at the international Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, thinks competitive cooking is a specific skill that takes dedicated practice to master. “You have to be very lucky or exceptionally talented to win first time.” His advice is to get the judges’ feedback, keep it simple, concentrate on purity of taste, good flavour combinations, consistency and to keep cool. “There will be moments when something goes wrong, but just like a kitchen in everyday life, it’s how you solve the situation.”

Remember, also, that no competition is a substitute for hard graft. As Bains puts it, “The Roux scholarship shows you to a door, but it’s up to you to kick that door down.”

THE BEST OF THE REST FOR...

PRECOCIOUS KIDS: Futurechef
Annual competition for 12 to 16-year-olds that attracts about 7,000 entries springboarduk.org.uk

TRAINEE TALENT: World Skills UK
Competitions for trainee chefs, the winners of which compete internationally. worldskillsuk.org

COMPETITIVE CATERERS: Salon Culinaire
80+ competitions, including chances for football stadium and NHS chefs to square up at the hob. hotelympia.com

FISH FANATICS: Norwegian Seafood Recipe Challenge
Craft-guild.org

AWARDS ROUND-UP...

KNORR NATIONAL CHEF OF THE YEAR:
Craft Guild of Chefs’ biennial competition, now in it’s 19th year
Good for Established professionals who can hold their own in the heat of battle
Who’s eligible Chefs aged 21 and over working in the UK hospitality industry
Deadline 31 December 2007
Previous winners Mark Sargeant, Gordon Ramsay
Top prize £ 10,000
Contact unileverfoodsolutions.co.uk
Eyck Zimmer, 2006 winner “Michelin stars or 5-star ratings can be taken away, but no one can take this from you”

THE ROUX SCHOLARSHIP:
Launches back in 1983 by the Roux brothers to offer a mentoring framework to chefs
Good for Talented young bucks. About 50 chefs apply each year
Who’s eligible British-trained chefs aged 22 to 30 on 1 February 2008
Deadline 18 January 2008 for Stage One – a written recipe using two fresh lemon sole, with two garnishes, for four people
Previous winners Sat Bains, Andrew Farlie
Top prize Includes three months training at a 3-star Michelin restaurant, £5,000 cash, a week’s work experience in New York, a magnum of Champagne Gosset Grand Rosé and Grande Reserve, a trip to Gosset’s wine cellars, a set of Global knives worth £1,000 and a trip to Milan
Contact rouxscholarship.co.uk
Michel Roux Sr “The most important aspect is the training. We established the scholarship with the prime objective of providing a springboard for chef’s to achieve their full potential”

YOUNG CHEF YOUNG WAITER:
Long-running Restaurant Association event
Good for Ambitious, attentive chefs, “At the finals, Michelin-starred chefs are on hand to offer practical advice and encouragement”
Who’s eligible Working chefs aged 24 and under. Born after 31
Deadline December 1982, June 2008
Previous winners Phil Howard’s Square restaurant, mainly. It supplied this year’s top three, including outright winner Simon Christey-French
Top prize £2,000 and a week’s study trip to Berlin (2007)
Contact ycyw.co.uk
Neil Borthwick, 2006 winner “A fantastic opportunity to test my skills under pressure – that’s what cooking is all about”

GORDON RAMSAY SCHOLAR AWARD:
Fast-track for the next generation
Good for Promising staff who can handle cooking live at the BBC Good Food Show, with Gordon himself
Who’s eligible Student / working chefs ages 18 to 25, based in Great Britain and Ireland
Deadline September 2008
Previous winners 2006 scholar Aled Williams has subsequently worked at Aria in Sydney and the Fat Duck
Top prize 2007 prize included three week-long placements at Ramsay restaurants in London, Paris and New York; a new car; £5,000 and a set of W_sthof knives
Contact gordonramsay.com
Simon Haynes, College Scholar 2006 “It’s opened doors and given me opportunities young chefs dream of”

MASTER OF CULINARY ARTS:
Organised by the Academy of Culinary Arts and based on the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award, the MCA is a supreme culinary test
Good for Seasoned chefs / pastry chefs
Who’s eligible Chefs aged 28 and over
Deadline Next event, 2009
Previous winners Anthony Worrall-Thompson, André Garrett
Top prize The title of Master of Culinary Arts, awarded to “all or none of the entrants depending on whether or not they reach the required standard”
Contact academyofculinaryarts.org.uk
Brian Turner, Academy President “This award is based on perfection. It takes courage to enter and exceptional skill to reach the final”