This year, 12 of the 18 finalists are new to the competition, with four of last year’s national finalists qualifying among them. The chefs come from establishments as far afield as Northern Ireland and Devon.
The 18 chefs, and two reserves, were selected from their written recipes that based on the recipe challenge. The recipes were submitted anonymously to the judges, who took part in the Recipe Judging day at The Waterside Inn on 11th February 2026.
The 18 finalists will compete in two regional finals which will be held simultaneously on Thursday 5th March 2026 at University College Birmingham and University of West London, Ealing, and we are very proud to share that once again, the Institute’s events team will be managing the finals.
Chefs competing in London will be:
Judging in London: Michel Roux, Brian Turner CBE, Emily Roux, André Garrett MCA, Angela Hartnett OBE, Mark Birchall and James Martin.
Chefs competing in Birmingham are:
Judging in Birmingham: Alain Roux, Simon Hulstone, Rachel Humphrey, Sat Bains, Adam Smith MCA
Six winners selected from across the two regional finals will go through to the national final, which takes place at the Alain Roux Culinary School at The Waterside Inn, Bray.
Good luck to all those competing and to the IoH team managing the event. We can’t wait to hear and share the results!
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