Final group of chefs wait to discover who takes the title

Steven Edwards, Sous Chef for South Lodge and Hanna Payne, The Pass Restaurant at South Lodge, joined four other shortlisted chefs, selected by public vote, to reach the ‘cook off’ round.

They faced enormous pressure this year having to produce a full three-course menu, based on local and seasonal ingredients, as opposed to the one course required in previous years.

The ‘masterchef-style’ cook off was hosted by City College Brighton & Hove and the young chefs faced a nail-biting wait before having to perform against the clock, producing each dish under the watchful eyes of the expert judging panel chaired by Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.

Having recently been promoted to Sous Chef at South Lodge, 24-year-old Steven was delighted to have made it through to the finals.

He said: “I have put so much time and effort into this competition and South Lodge has been tremendously supportive of both myself and Hanna. We are very proud to have both made it through and I’m very much looking forward to the live finals in January!”

Twenty-three-year-old Hanna Payne only joined the team at The Pass Restaurant a few months ago, but has gone from strength to strength and her dedication showed in the ‘cook off’, she said: “I was so nervous during the cook off - it was an intense, but brilliant day!

“I’m thrilled to have made it through alongside Steven and have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and experience of the competition so far.”

Joining them in the final is the youngest candidate in the competition this year, 20-year-old Simon Duncan from Sam’s of Brighton.

Mr Beddall commended runners up, Will Stanyer from Hotel Du Vin, Brighton; Daniel Whittle from Temptation café, Brighton and Bradley Jordan from Restaurant Tristan in Horsham, who fought hard in the cook off this week.

“It was one of the most closely-run competitions in the five-year history of the event and although they didn’t make it through to the final, their food was superb and they showed huge promise for the future – we hope very much that they will come back to compete again.”

Dhrutee Davé, Director of Haywards Heath based food recruitment agency, Blue Spark Organisation, said: “It has been a fantastic experience to be sponsors of this very popular category this year.

“The six candidates truly proved themselves in a very intense cook off and all were worthy of a place in the final – it was an extremely difficult decision for the judges to choose the top three as all the dishes were outstanding, but Simon, Hanna and Steven were exceptional and their dishes were truly delicious.”

The three finalists now face another two months of waiting to see who the overall winner is which will be announced at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner, to be held at the East Sussex Golf Resort & Spa on January 27 and hosted by Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.

Organisers have already opened sales for tickets to attend the awards dinner, now dubbed the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’.

This black tie event promises to be the best yet, celebrating the awards’ fifth birthday and includes a Sussex bubbly and ale reception, sponsored by Harveys; a stunning seven-course banquet dinner using the very best Sussex produce, created by the talented Andy Wiles, East Sussex National’s head chef; lots of entertainment; and a lively Oscars-style awards presentation.

Visit the website www.sussexfoodawards.biz to find out how to buy tickets for this fabulous event or call Natural PR on 01273 857242 for more information.