Foodbuy Group sponsors Oxford Junior Chef of the Year competition for the third year

6 June 2025

We are delighted to have played a part in organising and sponsoring the Oxford’s Junior Chef of the Year competition for the third year.

This annual event, aimed at enhancing young chef’s culinary skills and industry experience, was organised in partnership with the City of Oxford Guild of Chefs and our client, the colleges of the University of Oxford.

The annual competition is aimed at attracting and rewarding both Oxford University college chefs and those working in restaurants, pubs and cafes around Oxfordshire. We are proud to play a part in this competition to discover and recognise new talent for the hospitality industry, as well as for our client, the University of Oxford Colleges.

Recognising talent across Oxfordshire

13 candidates from across Oxfordshire, all with less than 4 years’ experience in kitchens, took part in the competition. The brief was to cook four different canapes from scratch within three hours, each with a restricted ingredient list.

Our strong network of supply partners based in Oxfordshire kindly donated locally produced ingredients for the competition. A team of professional chefs judged the candidates on kitchen performance and taste, including renowned chefs Gary Jones and Pierre Koffmann.

A huge thank you to our supplier partners for generously donating products to support the competition:

Clothing for Events
Harvey & Brockless
Savona Foodservice
Litmus Partnership
The Menu Partners
The Stickleback Fish Company
Vegetarian Express
Wild Venison and Game
Blacklands Organics

And thank you to Activate Learning, The City of Oxford College for the competition venue. 

The celebrations!

Following their victory at the competition, the finalists went on to serve their winning canapes at the City of Oxford Guild of Chef's black-tie gala dinner at Trinity College for 200 guests. The finalists were awarded their awards and prizes – a meal for two at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. The overall winner also received a day in the Le Manoir Cookery School. This experience and exposure enhances the young chefs’ culinary skillsets and strengthens their experience in the industry.

The winners
Congratulations to the following winners who picked up awards:
Overall Winner: Clement Bou Man Au
Best meat canapé: Harvey Winterbourne
Best fish canapé: Clement Bou Man Au
Best vegetarian canapé: Clement Bou Man Au
Best plant-based canapé: Gretel Muller

Ben Gibbons, Guild Master at The City of Oxford Guild of Chefs said:
“This competition is all about giving junior chefs from Oxfordshire the chance to shine and develop their confidence. It’s great to see them using local ingredients to produce exceptional canapés. Their creativity and passion represent the future of our industry, and we’re proud to provide this platform for them to develop their skills and gain feedback from professional chefs”

Learn about our partnership with the University of Oxford here: https://www.foodbuy.co.uk/case-studies/the-colleges-of-university-of-oxford/