Stanley House Young Chef Named in Top Three in UK

23rd October 2012

Lewis Gallagher, commis chef at Stanley House Hotel’s Grill on the Hill, Mellor has been named as one of the top young chefs in Britain at the National Young Chef of the Year competition.

21 year old Lewis was announced as one of two runners-up at the event, which took place at The Restaurant Show, live at Earl’s Court, London, on Tuesday, October 9.

The Stanley House chef took on seven of the best young chef’s in the country after being named as the North West Young Chef of the Year earlier this year.

Lewis’s dazzling menu which scooped him a place in the top three was a starter of goats cheese ravioli served with a baked crisp ham stuffed with confit onions, red wine glazed baby onions and smoked ham foam and a main of crispy sea bass served with seared King scallop, celeriac, braised celery heart and autumn truffle.

Lewis then tried to melt the judges’ hearts by creating an apple mousse served on a blackberry film, lavender anglaise and crisp honeycomb.

Due to such positive feedback in previous rounds of the competition for using locally sourced produce, he chose once again to use the best ingredients from around the UK including; Dorset woodland truffle, Cumbrian air dried ham and Yellison’s goats cheese from near Skipton.

The judges praised Lewis’s menu and valued his commitment throughout the final stages of the competition, they included; Phil Howard, owner of the two-starred Michelin restaurant, The Square, last year’s National Chef of the Year, Frederick Forster, celebrity chef Brian Turner CBE and Sophie Wright, cookery book author and one of the youngest stars of British cuisine.

Lewis who has worked at Stanley House for over two years and is from Blackburn said: “This is such a personal achievement. I am so proud to have had my dishes tested on a national level and compete against the best young chefs.

“This competition was extremely tough but I have received great support from employers, friends and family. Stanley House’s head chef, Andrew Parker helped me to select in-season ingredients and create mouth-watering flavours.”

“I live, eat and breathe food now, I still can’t believe I’ve been mingling with famous faces from the industry. This experience will no doubt propel me on to new things and I have the confidence to take my culinary skills to the next level.”

Stanley House general manager Philip Wharton attended the event along with head chef Andrew Parker. He commented:  “Lewis has only been working with food for three years but his commitment to innovation and professionalism shone through in what was a nerve-wracking live final in front of around 200 people.

“This chef is one to watch and we are extremely proud to have him on our team at Stanley House.

“As a business we strive for excellence and staff achievements such as this help us to deliver, we are all extremely proud.”