South West Chef of the Year 2026 Opens for Entries

Last year a chef from Fowey saw off the rest of the region to take the top prize. Now the search is on again, and kitchens across the South West have until the autumn to put someone forward who can do better.

Entries are now open for the South West Chef of the Year, the annual competition that celebrates the talent behind the region’s hospitality scene.

📷Lewis Brown - Credit Steve Haywood Photography

Two decades and counting

Now in its 22nd year, the contest was co-founded in 2004 by Michael Caines MBE DL, chef/patron of the Michelin-starred Lympstone Manor. It was set up to champion professional excellence, give rising stars a platform and celebrate the food and drink produced across the South West.

Michael said: “We’re once again on the hunt for the very best chefs and home cooks from across our region. Year after year we’re blown away by the culinary talent that exists and the incredible skills on display from our competitors. Whether it is the young students who enter the Junior Chef category, or the professionals who are at the top of their game, this is an opportunity to celebrate the many skilled and creative people in our industry.

“The competition has become a real highlight in the culinary calendar. It is a fantastic platform to showcase the amazing food and drink from the South West, of which we are very proud. It’s also an opportunity for our many high-quality hospitality venues to raise their profiles.”

📷Lewis Brown dessert - Credit Steve Haywood Photography

Who can enter

There are four categories open this year:

• Professional Chef – any age, working as a sous chef or pastry chef or above, or as a private chef
• Young Professional Chef – aged 18 to 24, working in any kitchen role up to and including junior sous chef
• Student/Apprentice Chef – aged 16 to 19 and at college or in an apprenticeship
• Home Cook – aged 16 and over, never having worked or trained in the catering industry

The Junior Chef category opened earlier in the year and closed on 26th May. To enter any of the remaining categories, competitors must live or work in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire or Wiltshire.

📷Lewis Brown main course - Credit Steve Haywood Photography

How it works

Competitors are given a list of seasonal ingredients and challenged to create their own dishes, with the emphasis on locally sourced produce. Finalists then cook in front of an expert panel led by Michael and featuring some of the South West’s best known chefs, including Nathan Outlaw, Paul Ainsworth, Elly Wentworth, Chris Cleghorn and Hywel Jones.

📷Lewis Brown starter - Credit Steve Haywood Photography

The Cornwall connection

Last year’s overall winner was Lewis Brown from the Fowey restaurant Narla by Charlie Walters.

Lewis said: “Entering South West Chef of the Year is a great opportunity to show your skills and individual style whilst also competing against some of the South West’s best up and coming chefs. It’s a great experience to be judged by some of the region’s top chefs and industry leaders and it is a great way of getting your name out there. It certainly looks good on your CV, no matter where you are in your career.

“Good luck to everyone that enters. Stay calm, enjoy the experience and if you don’t succeed, keep pushing and try again.”

📷Michael Caines, Lewis Brown, Spencer Jones from Ritter Courivaud and Seth Ward from Bidfood - Credit Steve Haywood Photography

Mark the date

This year’s competition comes to a head on Tuesday 27th October, when the Professional and Student/Apprentice Chef finals take place at Exeter College. The day finishes with an Awards Presentation Dinner at Exeter Golf and Country Club, where guests will sit down to a four-course meal cooked by the judges and former winners.

Tickets can be reserved by emailing info@southwestchef.co.uk. For more information and to enter, visit southwestchef.co.uk.

📷Judges tasting the competitor dishes - Credit Steve Haywood Photography