Awards
Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel's Senior Sous Chef shortlisted for 2012 National Chef of the Year Award
-
-
- Details
- Category: Awards
- Created on Wednesday, 16 May 2012 14:34
Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel's Senior Sous Chef shortlisted for 2012 National Chef of the Year Award
Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel was celebrating yesterday as the Craft Guild of Chefs announced the hotel’s Senior Sous Chef Zoltan Szabo as the only Glasgow chef out of 40 finalists for 2012 National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) title. Previous winners of the prestigious accolade include celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, Simon Hulstane head chef at The Elephant, Torquay, and Gordon Ramsay’s leading man, Mark Sargeant.Zoltan (28) originally from Budapest, trained in his home country and in Helsinki before moving to the UK in 2005. Zoltan worked as junior sous chef at Hilton Glasgow then head chef at the MacDonald Forest Hills Hotel & Resort in Aberfoyle. Two years later, Grand Central Hotel re-opened its doors following a £20m refurbishment and Zoltan joined the team as senior sous chef.
Commenting on making the shortlist, Zoltan Szabo, senior sous chef at Grand Central Hotel, said: ”I am honoured to be shortlisted for the National Chef of the Year title and to follow in the footsteps of many top UK chefs. I’ve set my sights on making the final however, I understand there’s still a long way to go and for the moment I’m staying firmly focused on the semi-finals next month.”
Zoltan will now compete in one of four semi-finals next month at Sheffield College and Westminster Kingsway College in London where he will battle it out for a place in the competition’s final.
Laurie Nicole, general manager of Grand Central Hotel said: “I am delighted Zoltan has been shortlisted for the NCOTY 2012 title. It is a great honour for Zoltan and for Grand Central Hotel to get this far in the competition, especially when up against competition from across the UK. I would like to wish him the very best of luck for the semi-finals next month.”
Eight contenders will go through to the final of the national competition, which will be held at The Restaurant Show at Earls Court 2 in London on 9th October 2012, with one winner scooping the NCOTY title and a prize package worth £15,000.
David Mulcahy, organiser of the competition and vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said: “Even at this stage it’s a long road to the final. The calibre of entries seem to get stronger and stronger every year, and this year’s semi-finals are going to be tough. On top of this, every stage of the competition features intense scrutiny by an experienced panel of chefs, this year led by Philip Howard as our 2012 chairman of judges.”
Following its £20m refurbishment, the Grand Central Hotel now offers 186 guest bedrooms, the stylish Champagne Central bar overlooking central station, Tempus restaurant and the recently opened Deli Central which has a dedicated entrance from Hope Street.
