Knorr Student Chef of the Year 2010

Trainee chefs from all over the country gathered in the kitchens of GMIT Galway for a live Masterchef-style final to claim the title of Knorr Student Chef of the Year, and in a dramatic two-hour ‘chef-off’ it was Billy Garvey (33) from Roscam in Co. Galway who went home with the overall honors and an all-expenses paid trip to the home of Knorr and Unilever’s global R&D Centre of Food Excellence in Germany

Under the watchful eye of the expert panel of judges which included Stefan Matz, the award-winning Executive Head Chef of the 5 star Ashford Castle, Billy’s starter of ‘griddled bread from the fire and baked egg from the ashes’ and his main course of ‘pan fired scallops with black pudding, colcannon apple jelly and apple froth’ were judged to have been the best interpretation of this year’s competition challenge to ‘re-invent and revamp traditional Irish food’.

The judging panel singled him out for praise for his excellent technique, creative flair and ability to manage timings and produce top-class food under enormous pressure - all hallmarks of distinguished professional chefs such as Gordon Ramsey who Billy credits with inspiring him in creating his winning dish.

The Knorr Student Chef of the Year is open to 2nd year full-time chef students in all 12 catering colleges in Ireland. It’s the biggest competition of its kind in Ireland, and this year saw a record surge in entries on the back of greater take-up of places in 3rd level catering schools last year. In an intense final cook-off, the trainee chef finalists were given two hours to produce a starter and main course - the recipes and workmanship were judged on creative flair, presentation and technical skill.

According to Head Judge Willie Somers, Executive Chef at Unilever Food Solutions, the creativity on display was exceptional. “The new twists given by students to traditional recipes really brought some old traditional Irish recipes like colcannon and bacon and cabbage to life and I’d love to see dishes produced today grace the menus of top restaurants and hotels in years to come when these trainees go into full-time chef roles!“

Fellow judge Stefan Matz, Head Chef at 5* Ashford Castle and the ‘g’ hotel in Galway said the trainees were a credit to their colleges, “Irish catering colleges have long been envied by European counterparts for their excellent facilities, however it’s only in recent years that the passion of our student chefs have started to come up to the mark and gain the positive attention of the industry worldwide. The caliber of work these budding chefs showed today was exceptional and made judging extremely difficult but I’m confident that in Billy we’ve found the next Irish chef star.”

Knorr Student Chef of the Year 2010 Billy Garvan says the win will help him achieve his dream of becoming a top-rated chef, “trainee chefs pull out all the stops to win this competition - it can really jumpstart a grad’s career in the right direction. The standard of cooking today was really high, so to win is a fantastic feeling. I want to acknowledge the help of my tutor at GMIT Frank O’Connor who’s been a great source of inspiration and support. My chef hero is Gordon Ramsey and one day I’d like to get the chance to work in his restaurants - winning today gives me a massive confidence boost and so is a big step in achieving that dream.”

As well as the top gong of Knorr Student Chef of the Year, Billy won an all expenses paid trip to the culinary capital of Germany, the Baden Württemberg region where he will eat in Schlosshotel Friederichsruehe, the award winning restaurant. He will go behind the scenes in Unilever’s global R&D Centre of Food Excellence where they will get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet some of the most creative chefs in the world who are responsible for producing the ingredient and food innovations of the future.

Second place was awarded to Shane Deane, representing the Falite Ireland training centre in Cork. While Claire Bryan took the bronze medal for Limerick IT.