TWO of the North West’s finest culinary talents have been shortlisted for the AA ‘Chef of the Year’ 2016.
The shortlist was drawn up following a vote by chefs currently holding an AA rosette
And it’s that man Simon Rogan again, of L’Enclume in Cartmel and The French in Manchester, who’s mantelpiece must be buckling after last month scooping the Good Food Guide’s ‘Restaurant of the Year’ for a fourth year running, adding to his three Michelin stars and numerous other accolades.
Rogan will be joined in the North West’s charge on the South by Nigel Haworth, a former Egon Ronay ‘Chef of the Year’ who's headed-up the Michelin-starred kitchens of Northcote in the Ribble Valley for over three decades.
Though the pair face some tough opposition.
Here are the other four shortlisted chefs:
Sat Bains - a former Great British Menu champ, Bains opened Restaurant Sat Bains in 2002, winning a first Michelin star in 2003, followed by a second star a few years later and a AA ‘Restaurant of The Year’ award in 2007.
Ashley Palmer Watts – Executive chef of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Group, Watts heads up the kitchen at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, which has two Michelin stars and reached no.5 in the ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants' in 2014.
Angela Hartnett – One of the most high-profile female chefs in the world, Hartnett is a protégé of Gordon Ramsay and current chief proprietor of Murano in Mayfair, which holds a Michelin star and 4 AA rosettes.
Clare Smyth – Another Ramsay protégé, Smyth became the UK’s first three-Michelin-starred female chef and recently left Restaurant Gordon Ramsay to open her own restaurant.
The shortlist was drawn up following a vote by chefs currently holding an AA rosette.
The winner will be revealed at an awards ceremony at The Grosvenor Park Lane on Monday 26 September.
Previous winners of the award include Tom Kerridge, Nathan Outlaw and Marcus Wareing.
The announcement tops off a bumper month for The French, which last week saw head chef Adam Reid reach the final of the BBC's Great British Menu.
Chef Nigel Haworth
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