Amelia Ng, from the Manor House Hotel and Golf Club in Castle Combe, near Chippenham, has won the coveted title of Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year 2019.
Amelia, beat 14 finalists who battled it out at University College Birmingham (UCB) yesterday, Thursday 4 April 2019.
Putting Amelia and the other finalists through their paces was an elite panel of judges, including President of the British Culinary Federation, Peter Griffiths MBE, Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell, and restaurateur, Larkin Cen. Amelia has been awarded with the 2019 title, winning a £750 cash prize and a stage with Larkin Cen at his Bristol restaurant, Woky Ko.
Amelia said: “I am thrilled to have won Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year, especially given the standard of the other finalists. I heard about this competition from my mentor Ed Marsh and have been working very hard preparing over the last couple of months. I was thrilled to have made the final, but to win the title is just incredible.
“The competition presented lots of challenges, but I’m so pleased that all my hard work paid off. The judges were brilliant and offered some excellent advice along the way. It’s an experience I won’t forget and one that I’ll take with me throughout my career.”
Finalists were required to submit two oriental dishes – a street food starter and a main course presented in a bowl. Amelia wowed the judges with her starter dish of Black Sesame Bao Bun with Crispy Challons Duck and Spiced Plum and a main of Huntsham Farm Pork and Prawn Wontons served with egg noodles, lotus root, pak choi, Chinese leaf, pork and shitake broth.
Close runners up in this year’s competition were Sophie Botting from House of Commons, securing second place, and Ryan Hyslop from South and City College Bournemouth, who came third.
Peter Griffiths said: “This year was incredibly tough for the contestants but the judges and I were very impressed with the high standards brought to the table. Given the increasing popularity in street food, we incorporated a specific street food inspired course this year and each student exceeded our expectations with their dishes. Amelia demonstrated an excellent working method and good depth of oriental flavours and clearly put in a lot of hard work and practise in the run up to the competition.”
Wing Yip Director Ennevor Yap, who oversaw the competition, added: “The Young Chef competition is something which is very close to our hearts. We’re extremely passionate about championing aspiring young chefs from all over the country, and the competition offers an amazing platform for anyone who is passionate about cooking, whether that’s oriental or any other type of cuisine. On behalf of everyone at Wing Yip, we’d like to congratulate Amelia and wish her all the best with her future endeavours.”
The other Wing Yip Young Chef of the Year 2019 finalists included:
- Sophie Botting, House of Commons
- Ryan Hyslop, South and City College (Bournville Campus)
- Darnell Barrett, University College Birmingham
- Konstantinos Spyrou, University College Birmingham
- Chloe Lloyd-Hughes, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
- Ryan Howarth, North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
- Mukhtar Hassan, JLR Solihull (Compass)
- Kit De’ath, De Montford University (Compass)
- Chad Moon, The ICC (Amadeus)
- Ben Webster, The Belfry Hotel and Resort
- Phoenix De-Giorgi, Saunton Sands
- Russell Letts, OPUS
- Sara Lang-Harding, Dine Contract Catering
- Shanay Thomas, Bedfordshire College Kingsway Campus
Wing Yip established the annual Young Chef competition in 2012, to encourage young chefs to get creative in the kitchen and experiment with Oriental ingredients and flavours, and aims to celebrate the very best talent across the industry for young chefs aged 18-25.
Wing Yip has four stores in Manchester, Birmingham, Cricklewood and Croydon, supplying fresh, ambient and frozen foods seven days a week. There is also an online store (www.wingyip.com) where ambient products can be purchased for delivery nationwide.
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