Nineteen young chefs, pasty chefs and waiters have achieved the Academy of Culinary Arts’ Annual Award of Excellence accolade.

The long-running awards recognise the practical and theoretical knowledge of the country’s best young hospitality employees aged 20 to 26.

Judges included chef Brian Turner; London’s Ritz hotel executive chef John Williams; Silvano Giraldin, matre d' at London’s Le Gavroche; and guest judge actress and cook Jane Asher.

The finals for the respective disciplines were held at Le Gavroche, Gleneagles hotel in Auchterarder and Thames Valley University.

A Gala presentation will be held at London’s Claridge’s on 10 July. The highest-scoring candidate in each category - Kitchen, Pastry and Service - will also be awarded with a scholarship worth £2000 from the Savoy Educational Trust and the British Hospitality Association.

• Dennis Mwakulua has been named London Chef of the Year 2007, as part of London’s Westminster Kingsway College’s annual Culinary Salon. Mwakulua works for Eurest, part of Compass Group, at Fijitsu. He wins a weekend for two in New York with dinner at Wylie Dufresne’s WD50 restaurant, a trip to Italy courtesy of Electrolux Professional and a set of All-Clad Pans.

Those who achieved the award are (in alphabetical order):

Kitchen - Kitchen candidates had 5 hours to produce a raw vegetable salad with roasted scallop, soupe au pistou, a free interpretation dish with short saddle of lamb and kidneys and a custard tart.

Joshua Duncan, The Commonwealth Club
Nick Hewitt, Chewton Glen
Peter Liese, Hartwell House
Ashley Paynton, Roux Fine Dining
Adam Thomson, New Hall Hotel
Rhodri Williams, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons

Pastry - Pastry candidates had 5½ hours to produce a centre piece of their own design using cooked sugar or isomalt and 16 piped and 16 moulded chocolates

Matthew Forbes, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Craig Gent, Opus Restaurant
Andrea Reiss, The Lanesborough
Will Torrent, Richings Park Golf Club

Service - Service candidates were required to decant wine, set up mise-en-place and serve a 3-course meal with wine and liqueurs.

Adrien Boutet, Morton’s Club
Antonio Bruno, Bath Priory Hotel
Julie Doig, Gleneagles Hotel
Davide Durante, The Ritz
Karim Le Cloarec, 30 St Mary Axe
Richard McGookin, Catch 22, Glasgow
Romain Mejecaze, Gleneagles Hotel
Christopher Peck, Gleneagles Hotel
Barbara Riotti, The Goring Hotel

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