West Sussex chefs set to sizzle in live cook off

The famous South Lodge Hotel in Horsham is leading the way for West Sussex with two of their young chefs making it through to the next stage for this coveted award.

Both contenders started the competition in different roles, 21-year-old Hanna Payne was originally nominated for the award when working at Whites Bar & Kitchen in Steyning, but has since moved to join the team at ‘The Pass’ restaurant at South Lodge.

Said Hanna: “I’m delighted to have made it through to the next stage, it has been a busy few months but I’m absolutely ready for the ‘cook off’ challenge.”

Steven Edwards was originally nominated for the competition when he was solely working at the ‘The Pass’ restaurant but has since been promoted to Sous Chef and now oversees the catering for all parts of the hotel.

“It has been quite a week,” said 24-year-old Steven, “I am thrilled to make it through to the last six chefs and the feeling of elation has only been topped this week by also becoming a father for the first time to baby daughter, Scarlet.”

The West Sussex duo are joined by four other talented chefs including three from Brighton: 20-year-old Simon Duncan from Sam’s of Brighton, Hotel Du Vin’s Will Stayner at 25 years old and Daniel Whittle, 21 years old from Temptation café; and from across the county, 20-year-old Philippa Seward-Fisher from the Coach and Horses in Danehill, East Sussex completes the list.

The six shortlisted chefs have been selected by public vote and this year will have to produce a full three course menu based on local and seasonal ingredients as opposed to the one course in previous years.

They will compete in the ‘cook off’ hosted by City College Brighton & Hove on November 9 and judged by an expert panel chaired by Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.

Said Clive Beddall OBE: “Young chefs are key in bringing new ideas and flavours to the table and Sussex boasts a host of top quality chefs, giving the region a superior edge over other counties when it comes to fine dining.”

Voting lines for all categories have now closed and over 500 different businesses and individuals in the food and drink industry from every corner of Sussex were voted for in this year’s awards, which is notably higher than in previous years.

Finalists will be announced next month and the winners and runners up will be revealed at the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’, the awards banquet at the East Sussex National Golf Resort and Spa on January 27 2011.

The awards are run by Sussex PR firm Natural PR with support from A Taste of Sussex, part of Sussex Enterprise.

To find out more about the awards and how to buy tickets for the awards banquet visit www.sussexfoodawards.biz.