Sean-Paul Phippard of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles has been crowned winner of the first-ever Plated competition – taking home the title and a huge prize pot worth £10K.
“I’m absolutely over the moon,” says Phippard. “I honestly never thought I would win. I just wanted to prove to myself that I had the confidence.I didn’t think about the winning or the prize.”
Created by hospitality experts Goodfellow & Goodfellow and TRUEfoods, Plated was born from a shared passion to spotlight the next generation of chefs and give young talent a national platform to showcase their skills, creativity and plating skills. With a prize fund worth £10,000, a trip to tableware manufacturer and sponsors of the competition, Costa Nova in Portugal, plus a Michelin-starred dining experience and photoshoot in Goodfellow & Goodfellow’s industry brochure, Portfolio 7, the competition captured the attention of young chefs from across the UK.
Finalists included Monica Elena Duscu (Cord, Le Cordon Bleu), Brayden Davies (The Box Tree, Ilkley), Hannah Sloane (The Black Swan, Oldstead), Ajit Yadav (Corinthia London), and Reece Bradt-Temple (The Grand, York). But it was Phippard’s lobster showstopper that left a lasting impact on the judging panel, which included restaurateur Jason Atherton, Spencer Metzger, Executive Chef at Row on 5, and Lisa Goodwin-Allen, Chef Patron at Northcote.
“The dish is beautiful,” says Goodwin-Allen. “And the use of the whole lobster in each of the elements – from the mayonnaise and the claw to the tail and the sauce – was very well thought out. Plus the presentation was fantastic.”
Phippard enjoyed the competition so much he thinks all young chefs should get involved. “When I was younger, I was very nervous and I thought I wasn’t good enough for these competitions. But I’d encourage all young chefs to enter, whatever the outcome, because it’s a great experience.”
