Simon Hulstone's Elephant wins two BCF awards

Torquay's Elephant bar and restaurant was celebrating this weekend after two of its chefs walked away with prestigious accolades at the British Culinary Federation's Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Evening.

The eaterie, which has a fine-dining restaurant and a brasserie, scooped two of the four awards presented during a ceremony at the Hilton Metropole hotel on Sunday.

Jordan Bailey, commis chef in the Michelin-starred restaurant, collected the Johnnie Borra Memorial award for the most promising young chef under 25 years of age, while Simon Hulstone, head chef at the Elephant, was awarded the Classic Fine Foods accolade, which recognises excellence in the hospitality industry.

Hulstone said: "It's fantastic to be taking back two awards to the Elephant. There's so much chef talent in this country right now that to win this kind of award is really something to be proud of. Since he joined last year, Jordan has become a great asset to an already outstanding team. He was a fantastic support at the Bocuse d'Or and I believe that he has huge potential; it's great to see his talent rewarded at such an early stage of his career."

Michael Edwards of the University College Birmingham scooped the Robert J Smith award, which honours professionalism and dedication to the industry. He was recognised for his tireless work with the Junior English National Culinary Team, which resulted in silver medals in both Hot Kitchen and Cold Buffet in Luxembourg and a fourth place ranking out of 11 countries, as well as his enthusiasm towards junior development.

And Matt Davies, executive chef at the Lewis Partnership, earned the Louis Cipolla Award, which distinguishes the greatest contribution made to the profession by any chef members within the BCF.

Davies was honoured for his continued work within local schools and promoting both senior and junior chef competitions at Taste of Staffordshire.

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By Helen Gilbert

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