SEVENTEEN chefs including Sam Rust from The Grove Narberth and Carmarthenshire’s Katie Duffy (pictured) have been selected to cook off in the finals of three prestigious competitions at the Welsh International Culinary Championships.
The Culinary Association of Wales, which organises and holds the three-day Welsh talent and food and drink showcase at ICC Wales from January 20-22, announced the finalists of the National, Junior and Vegan Chef of Wales 2025 contests on Monday.
The National Chef of Wales final will be contested by 10 chefs, including Sam Rust from Swansea, who works at The Grove, Narberth and will be making his debut in the competition.
Sam Everton from Llangeler, Llandysul, who is a catering lecturer at Coleg Ceredigion, Cardigan, is bidding to win the Junior and National Chef of Wales competitions in consecutive years. The only chef to achieve this feat was Danny Burke, from Connah’s Quay who now runs Olive Tree Catering, Runcorn.
Wayne Barnard from Caerphilly, who works at Llechwen Hall Hotel near Pontypridd, will be hoping to improve on his third place last year while Matthew Owen from Cardiff and Rebekah Wright, from Ebbw Vale, who both work at the Celtic Manor Resort, return for another shot at the final.
They will line up in the final with Celtic Manor Resort colleagues Patrick Millard from Bargoed, Ionut Rosca from Newport, Gareth Jenkins from Fleur de Lis and Pratik Bhandarkar from Newport.
The other finalist is Jordan Howorth from Baschurch, who works at Shrewsbury School for Sodexo and helped the Culinary Team Wales win a gold medal at the Alen Thong Golden Coffee Pot Young Chef Challenge in Sharjah in May.
In the final on Monday, January 20, the chefs will be given three hours to cook a three courses for 12 diners featuring GI Welsh ingredients and Cygnet Gin.
The menu must include a plant-based starter suitable for a vegan diet, a main course featuring two different cuts of GI Welsh Beef and a dessert featuring hot, cold and chocolate elements and a biscuit or tuille.
Rebekah Wright will also contest Welsh Vegan Chef of the Year final against Celtic Manor Resort colleague Byron Burns, from Pontypool and former National Chef of Wales winner Ryan Jones, from Maesteg, head chef at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff. They will cook a three course menu for six diners in two-and-a-half hours on Wednesday, January 22.
The competition, sponsored by Henley Bridge, challenges chefs to cook an appetiser with 50% warm components, a main course with a minimum of three components, including microgreens and a dessert including chocolate, tea and two fruit puree products.
The Junior Chef of Wales finalists on Wednesday, January 22 are Katie Duffy who works at The Halfway, Llanelli who finished third last year, Junior Culinary Team Wales captain Calum Smith who works at Shrewsbury School for Sodexo, Jay Littler from Wrexham who works at Carden Park Hotel, Chester and Niruth Wijetunga and Gold Ayinia-Adeyemi, both from Newport who work at Celtic Manor Resort.
The chefs will be given two-and-a-half hours to cook a three course pescatarian meal for six diners with a plant-based starter suitable for a vegan diet, a main course featuring Chirk Farm Trout and a dessert including one hot and one chocolate element. The competition is sponsored by Cygnet Gin.
The winner will be automatically seeded into the UK semi-final of the Young National Chef of the Year.
Winners of all three competitions, together with the Welsh Apprentice Butcher of the Year, will be announced at a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony to close the WICC on the evening of January 22.
Diners can reserve tickets to experience the dishes cooked by the finalists in the three finals at: [email protected] .
Sponsors of the WICC are Castell Howell, Cambrian Training Company, Roller Grill UK, MCS Technical Products, Capital Cuisine, Churchill, Cygnet Gin, Henley Bridge, Food and Drink Wales, Kentaur, City & Guilds UK, Essential Cuisine, Ecolab, Hybu Cig Cymru / Meat Promotion Wales, Terry’s Patisserie Ltd, Willo Game, Fresh & Tasty Microgreens, Radnor Hills and Friedr Dick GmbH & Co.