A TALENTED, young chef, who works at The Quay Hotel, Deganwy, has been judged the best in Wales.

Harry Osborne, aged 22, received a surprise visit today, Tuesday, December 15, from Arwyn Watkins, Culinary Association of Wales (CAW) president, who announced he was the new Junior Chef of Wales and presented him with the trophy.

The contest final, which was due to have been held in Cardiff last March, had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

However, the CAW resurrected the final in a different form. Instead of bringing all the finalists together at a venue, it was decided to send judges to the establishments where the chefs work to watch them cook three course menus in their own kitchens.

Only three of the original seven finalists were able to compete as some establishments were closed due to the pandemic. Competing against Harry were previous finalists Thomas Martin, Baileys Arms, Mountain Ash and Oliver Thompson, Gaerwen Arms, Gaerwen, Anglesey.

Harry’s winning menu opened with a starter of stuffed roscoff onion, beetroot seatin with lentils, wild mushroom and Persian pistachio. Main course was herb crust Welsh Lamb saddle, lamb neck pithivier, broccoli, pickled red cabbage, pomme puree and lamb jus. Dessert was apple and cinnamon pressing, blackberry gel, honeycomb, crème pâtissier, oat crumble and yoghurt sorbet.

As part of his winning prize, Harry will be seeded through to the semi-finals of next year’s Young National Chef of the Year contest organised by the Craft Guild of Chefs.

Harry said: “I was gobsmacked when told I had won. It means the world to me because it’s a really big competition.

“I want to go as far I can in my career. After gaining more experience, I would like to work in London and eventually buy my own restaurant. I love trying different things with my dishes and like to shock people.”