Forth Valley College’s Stirling Campus hosted a Regional Heat of the prestigious National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition on Friday 8 May, resulting in FVC students qualifying for the summer finals.
Run in association with The Grimsby Institute, the annual competition is now in it’s 29th year and welcomes several full-time cookery students and college based modern apprentice chefs.
These included four teams of two: one from Fife College, another from Sunderland College and two teams from Forth Valley College. Chef Judges on the day were Ben Bartlett who is and Ambassador for Love British Food and a Board Member of the Masterchefs of Great Britain and is known as ‘BBQ Ben’, and Richard Dalgleish Estate Executive Sous Chef at the luxury Gleneagles resort.
Highly regarded across the seafood industry for the valuable experience it gives to contestants, the competition provides trainee chefs with a platform to demonstrate their flair, understanding, skill, and ability using seafood from sustainable sources. More information here https://ukseafood.co.uk/national-seafood-chef-of-the-year/
Carrie Vaughan, National Seafood Chef of the Year - Competition Director, said: “It is a privilege to lead a national culinary competition and play a part in developing the next generation of culinary talent. Every competitor should be incredibly proud of their achievements; they are all winners in my eyes, demonstrating resilience, determination and exceptional culinary skill. The competition provides a fantastic platform for trainees to explore and showcase the versatility and quality of outstanding seafood.”
Karyn King FVC’s Operations Manager in the Department of Creative, Digital and Leisure Industries, said: “We were delighted to host such a prestigious cooking competition at our Stirling Campus and it was fascinating and exciting to see the various dishes that the best young chefs in Scotland and the North of England could create on the day.
“I was extremely proud of the Forth Valley College teams who produced tasty dishes using the best seafood ingredients around. Well done to them and all the participants and winners who took part.”
Regional heats are taking place across the UK in May and teams have been tasked with creating a three-course menu using specially selected seafood species. Trainee chefs had to cook their menu, with the two highest-scoring teams from each heat – decided by judges - going on to compete at the grand final to be held on Friday 12 June 2026 at the Grimsby Institute in North East Lincolnshire.
The first 30 minutes of the competition focused on filleting and preparation (seafood mise en place) before teams created the menu submitted in round one.
Teams were required to bring all their own commodities with them to the heats, excluding the specific seafood species for each course, as the event sponsors King Crab provide this. All named products will be provided at each heat and the final.
As an incentive to inspire competing chefs, the organisers also created three additional certificates per heat. Certificates will be allocated for the best starter, intermediate, and main courses presented on the day. Two teams from each Regional Heat will be awarded a place in the Final, meaning eight teams will compete in June 2026.
Winners on the day were:
Best Starter Dish: – Makenzie McFarlane and Cara Couper from Forth Valley College
Best Intermediate Dish: – Hollyanna Howieson and Alexander Tutaj from Fife College
Best Main Dish: – Tyler Allan and Robbie Stoddart from Forth Valley College
Progressing to the Final: – Makenzie McFarlane and Carra Couper from Forth Valley College and Hollyanna Stoddart and Alexander Tutaj from Fife College
Certificates of Merit: – Tyler Allan and Robbie Stoddart from Forth Valley College and Samantha Nolan and Layton Miller from Sunderland College
Makenzie McFarlane (20) from Raploch, Stirling, said: "I was sitting there with my jaw dropping when they said our names. I can't wait for the final as we like a challenge. What a great experience and is something to put on our CVs."
Cara Couper (19) from Cornton, Stirling, said: "My heart was racing and I was really nervous and am shocked that we have won through to the final. But I am excited and am looking forward to it."
Tyler Allan (19) from Alloa and Robbie Stoddart (18) from Hallglen, Falkirk won the Best Main course at the event.
Tyler said: "I think it went very well and I thought the flavours were nice and went well together. We were very happy with it."
Robbie, said: "Likewise I too was very happy with it and it all worked on the plate. I have done a few competitions now and it is pretty special to compete against chefs from our region."
Winners of the National Seafood Chef of the Year Competition will gain a mystery prize for themselves, which will be announced at the final. Prize certificates will be awarded to the college and team members as well as the overall winners claiming the competition trophy and competition medals.
The competition exists to promote the fantastic range of seafood available to us within the UK and showcase the skills of trainee chefs who are at the early stages of their career.
It is open to full-time and college based modern apprentice chefs and has previously been supported by some of the best chefs in the UK, including: Simon Hulstone, Rick Stein, Nathan Outlaw, Daniel Clifford, Galton Blackiston, Mark Hix, Mitch Tonks, Cyrus Todiwala, Aiden Byrne, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and Tom Aitkens, who have all been head judges at the final held annually in Grimsby.
Each entry must include a starter, an intermediate, and a main course – all using fish species specified. A summary of ingredient costs for each dish, including the method of production for each dish, must also be included. Along with an allergens list, and a presentation menu.
Throughout the competition, the chefs will demonstrate their filleting, cookery, and plating skills in the hope of becoming this year’s winning team. Following the judging of initial entries by the competition’s review judges, teams will be invited to compete at the regional heats which are held at various venues across the UK.
After spending the day competing, the winner of the 2026 National Seafood Chef of the Year will be announced during the award ceremony at approximately 3pm immediately afterwards. The grand final competition finishes at approximately 4pm.
For more information on Hospitality and Cookery courses at the College visit: https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/courses/hospitality-and-cookery
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