Matthew Bottomley and Thomas Basford in the final of the UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year

Nikki Hawkins, Matthew Bottomley, Thomas Basford and Ben Bartlett

Matthew Bottomley and Thomas Basfordare one step closer to winning a coveted seafood competition this week after landing a place in the final of the UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year.

The pair, from Hopwood Hall College, were one of three teams to go to the final, after competing in the first regional heat of the UK-wide competition at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru on Friday 13 May.

All teams were tasked with cooking a specially created three course seafood menu to present to the judges within a three hour timeframe.

The pair landed a place in the final with their menu consisting of salmon, prawns and Dover sole. The judges praised their excellent skills and level of confidence in the kitchen and said that this year’s competition was already displaying very high standards.

The young chefs will now go through to the final on Friday 10 June at the Grimsby Institute, in Lincolnshire, where they will be asked to create a new three course meal from scratch using species specifically chosen for them.

Highly regarded across the seafood industry for the valuable experience it gives to contestants, the competition’s 2016 panel includes some of the country’s most successful chefs.

Cyrus Todiwala, widely known for his Pan-Asian cuisine, will be on hand at the final to provide expert culinary advice. He will be joined by celebrity barbeque chef, Ben Bartlett, and Italian food connoisseur Valentina Harris. Gastronomic genius, Franck Pontais, alongside Serge Nollent, executive development chef at Young’s and Nikki Hawkins, events manager at Seafish will also be putting the contestants through their paces.

Matthew Bottomley said: “We still can’t quite believe we managed to make it to the final, it’s an amazing feeling."

Thomas Basford added: “We’re so excited to cook for the judges again and hope we can do Hopwood Hall College proud and win the whole competition.”

Nikki Hawkins, events manager at Seafish, said: “The UK Young Seafood Chef of the Year competition is an excellent platform for young chefs to showcase their culinary skills while receiving credible industry feedback.

“We wish the team from Hopwood Hall College all the very best of luck for the final. I look forward to seeing what mark they make on the seafood industry in the years to come.”