Three Cumbrians have been shortlisted in the Craft Guild of Chefs 2022 awards.
The annual awards are seen as the chefs’ Oscars recognising the exceptional talent across the whole of the hospitality industry – from apprentice and young chefs just starting out to chefs who are established in their careers in hospitality, pubs and restaurants.
Among those shortlisted across the 15 categories, is Nina Matsunaga, head chef and co-owner of the Black Bull, Sedbergh, who features as one of the three shortlisted candidates in the Pub Restaurant Chef category, alongside Simon Harris, The Embankment, Bedford (Peach Pubs) and Nick Hemming, The Heron Inn, Malpas.
As part of the awards process, Nina and her fellow chefs are assessed against a series of stringent criteria, including their use of local produce, how they support local farmers and producers and the wider community in which they operate, as well as their culinary creativity, team management, the way they develop their team and how they have made a contribution to the industry as a whole.
Nina said: ‘’I’m, over the moon to be a shortlisted nominee in the Craft Guild of Chef Awards 2022. It’s been an eventful few years and now thankfully things finally feel like they are getting back to normal. As a chef, you have to be passionate about what you do, and awards like this play a significant part in helping to shape you as a person, helping you to evolve and develop by benchmarking you against your peers.
“But in reality, you are only as good as the team around you and without their support it wouldn’t be possible to do any of that, so being shortlisted also recognises them too.’’
Other nominees include:
- Chi-Hin Cheung, Gilpin, Hotel and Lake House (Apprentice Chef Award)
- Dan McGeorge, Rothay Manor (Restaurant Chef Award)
Commenting on being shortlisted Dan McGeorge said: ‘’These awards are seen as the industry Oscars and are highly regarded right across the sector. Which is why I’m really excited to be shortlisted this year, especially being up against two other amazing chefs. Now we’ve all got the difficult job of waiting until the awards evening in June to see how we get on.’’
The winners will be announced on June 9 at Magazine, Greenwich, London.
