A TALENTED chef must wait until Thursday (Feb 22) night to discover if he is the new National Chef of Wales.

Matthew Smith, sous chef at Chartists 1770 at The Trewythen Hotel, Llanidloes, has made it down the final five of the at the Welsh International Culinary Championships (WICC), organised by the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW), at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai’s campus in Rhos-on-Sea.

The 38-year-old took part in the second day of the final on Wednesday alongside two other chefs in a cook-off in which they had five hours to prepare and cook their own four course menu for 12 people, featuring mostly Welsh ingredients.

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A vegan starter is followed by a fish dish, a main course using two different cuts of Welsh Lamb and a dessert featuring seasonal fruits, ice cream, chocolate and biscuit or tuille.

Smith, whose commis chef was Charlotte Latham, served up a vegan dish comprising a porridge of British grains, wild mushrooms, apple parsnips and nutritional yeast. His starter was confit salmon, seared scallop, sweet pickled cucumber, crab fritter and capsicum ketchup.

Main course was PGI Welsh Lamb saddle stuffed with mint cous cous and spinach, braised shoulder terrine, wild garlic croquette, roasted and pureed swede, yellow pea smoked bacon ragu, tomato and ewe’s cheese tartlet, jus of rosemary and port.

Dessert was Welsh whiskey and raspberry dark chocolate torte, grapefruit sorbet, choux, hazelnut caramel, compressed pear, Welsh Greek yoghurt and tuille.

County Times: Matt Smith in action. Picture by Phil Blagg.Matt Smith in action. Picture by Phil Blagg.

He said: “I was very happy with my dishes and everything went according to plan. Charlotte and I worked well as a team.”

Also competing in the final are: Wayne Barnard, 39, sous chef at Manor Parc Country Hotel and Restaurant, Thornhill, Cardiff; Thomas Herbert, 24, from Bridgend, chef de partie at Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Chippenham; Andrew Tabberner, 29, chef co-owner of Gaerwen Arms, Gaerwen, Anglesey; and Robert Cave, 38, from Wrexham, senior sous chef at Rookery Hall, Worleston, Nantwich.

The winner will be announced at the WICC Presentation Dinner at the Imperial Hotel, Llandudno on Thursday evening.

At stake is £1,000 for the winner, £500 for the runner-up and £300 for third place.

The winning chef will also have the opportunity to represent Wales at the next Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge Northern Europe heat and will receive a set of knives from Friedr Dick and £250 worth of Churchill products.

Main sponsor of the WICC, organised by the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW), is Food and Drink Wales, the Welsh Government’s department representing the food and drink industry.