Plated, by Goodfellow & Goodfellow and TRUEfoods, is a competition aimed at giving young chefs in Cumbria and beyond a national platform to showcase their talent, plating and creative skills – and has already been backed by Michelin-starred chefs such as Jason Atherton, who will sit on the judging panel.
Founders of Goodfellow & Goodfellow, Valda and Paul Goodfellow – along with managing director of TRUEfoods, Mitch Mitchell – said they wanted to provide younger chefs with the opportunity to showcase their love and passion for creative plating and give them the chance to shine.
The idea explained by one of the organisers
Valda, co-founder of Goodfellow and Goodfellow, which sells tableware to the hospitality sector, said:
“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.”
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.”
UK chefs under 30 years of age can apply
Professional chefs who meet the eligibility criteria – which include being aged 30 or under and from the UK – are now being encouraged to submit their best photos of plated dishes of food by March 10 by emailing plated@goodf.co.uk
The judging panel, which also includes Executive Head Chef of Row On 5, Spencer Metzger, Jason, Valda, Paul and Mitch – with more to be announced – will be whittled down to the top six finalists.
A live-streamed cook-off with the finalists will take place at TRUEfoods Development Kitchen, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, on April 26 where they will battle it out in a skills test for plating presentation and taste. Whatever image or video is submitted by chefs will be the dish they have to cook at the live final.
One winner at the end
One winner will be crowned and 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 industry publication, Portfolio
- A decorated Trophy Plate
With such a huge prize pot up for grabs, the judges are hoping to see professional chefs with a variety of different styles enter. Valda says she will be specifically looking for “passion, love and care” when it comes to plating up.
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.”
Each chef has three chances
Chefs can submit three entries – and with each entry, three images or videos are allowed.
Mitch Mitchell, Managing Director of TRUEfoods – a business which produces stocks and sauces for chefs, 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!”
The competition is sponsored by Costa Nova which provides both high-end and affordable tableware to the hospitality industry.
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: https://www.goodf.co.uk/blog/plated-competition/
Goodfellow and Goodfellow will also be attending The Lakes Hospitality Show on February 26 and 27 to showcase their tableware – as well as chat about the competition with attendees.
All pictures provided by spotty-media.com
