With the competition at its peak, contesting chefs vying for the prized title of Seafood Scotland’s ‘Chef Poissonnier of the Year UAE’ prep themselves to cook up a storm and showcase their culinary flair, skillset, and creativity in front of a panel of acclaimed industry experts.
The award-winning judging panel has been carefully selected and comprises 3 legends of the world’s culinary scene who are avid supporters of bringing young talent to the forefront.
Wayne Tapsfield, Chairman of judges
Chef Wayne Tapsfield, who brings with him over 30 years of culinary excellence leads the judging panel as the Chairman of judges.
With a passion for the kitchen from a young age of 13, he has under his apron, awards such as ‘The Young Chef of the Year’ in the UK and holds an ‘Academie Culinaire de France award of excellence’. Most of his learning and experience came from working alongside the legendary British celebrity chef Gary Rhodes OBE, who was both a mentor and a friend. Having together achieved many a Michelin star.
Achievements aside, Chef Tapsfield has a deep passion to help and develop young chefs who may have not had the opportunities to develop their skills and passion as he did. He together with Chef Rhodes, always taught aspiring chefs the basics well enough for them to take it with them to their next establishment. By becoming part of The Chef Poissonnier of the Year UAE’s judging panel, Chef Tapsfield believes he would be passing on his experience, knowledge, and skills and to help these young chefs hopefully one day achieve successful positions while leaving behind a legacy of their own. Read more about Chairman of Judges, Wayne Tapsfield, here.
Ben Tobitt, Managing Director, Ben’s Farmhouse Middle East
The second chef to grace the judging panel is the healthy living concept mastermind Chef Ben Tobitt, Managing Director of Ben’s Farmhouse Middle East. Introduced to a kitchen by his father when he was barely 9 years old, Chef Tobitt eventually began his culinary journey at the start of 1999 at the Park Lane Hilton, London. In 2011, he moved to Dubai where he joined JRG Dubai as Sous Chef at The Ivy, gradually moving up to serve as group head chef of JRG (now known as Sarood Hospitality) in 2016.
In 2020, Chef Ben plunged into the challenge of creating his dream business, eventually birthing Ben’s Farmhouse, a farm-to-fork concept that offers customers innovative, fresh produce, from local UAE farms. Chef Tobitt aims to create a greater sustainable and collaborative impact in the community and to support the UAE’s push towards greater food security. By joining the judging panel he aims to share his kitchen skills and knowledge of sustainable and innovative cooking with budding chefs. Read more about Judge Ben Tobitt, here.
Howard Ko, Executive Chef, CÉ LA VI Dubai
The third judge on the panel is Michelin star culinary extraordinaire Howard Ko, Executive Chef at the CÉ LA VI restaurant in Dubai. With a deep-rooted love for food, Chef Howard found himself exploring his curiosity in the family kitchen which eventually led him to train at New York’s The Culinary Institute of America whose alumni list includes Anthony Bourdain. In 2006, he landed a job at the Michelin-starred restaurant DANIEL, with later stints at Picholine, Restaurant Mélisse and The French Laundry, where he worked alongside Timothy Hollingsworth, famous restauranteur, and winner of Final Table.
With over 11 years of culinary experience, Chef Ko’s USP has always been about finding a balance in tradition and modernity i.e. reinventing the classics. His aim has always been to create memorable food experiences. His current menu at CÉ LA VI is contemporary Asian but with a European and American approach. Chef Ko finds it unfortunate that there is a lack of solid mentorship in the UAE and hopes through this competition he can guide aspiring chefs onto the path of solid culinary success. Read more about Judge Howard Ko, here.
The first verdict of the judging panel from the qualifying round saw 8 chefs emerge victoriously. The competitive flames are now up a notch for the 8 contestants as they prep to compete head-to-head in this ‘Around the World’ themed challenge at the ‘live’ semi-final heats in Dubai on 21st March 2022. Here the judges will decide the top 4 of the 8 contesting chefs who will then move on to the filmed ‘live’ finals in May 2022, with extensive UAE media coverage.
The winner will be crowned Seafood Scotland’s ‘Chef Poissonnier of the Year UAE’ also winning the prize of a once in a lifetime all-expenses-paid educational trip to the beautiful remote Highlands and Islands of Scotland, an opportunity to perfect their fish skills with the masters of seafood and learn from some of the world’s greatest fishermen and fisheries, a personal tour of a traditional Scottish smokehouse, a premium personalised Bragard chefs’ jacket and more!
For more coverage of the competition and to keep up to date, please visit www.sfschefcompetition.com.
