Westbury chef Josh Bingham has the right ingredients for success

Josh receives his certificate from the competition

AN ex-Matravers student has consolidated his status as a rising star in the restaurant world, with a recent award from the Craft Guild of Chefs. 

22-year-old Josh Bingham, a chef at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, is the ‘Highest Achiever’ in the guild’s 2013 graduate awards.

He had to shine in a gruelling cooking examination earlier this month, coming out ahead of the five other chefs in the final.

In the competition, Josh had to demonstrate his skills across a complete spectrum, from butchery to pastry making.

Competitors had to create a main course from a mystery basket of ingredients, centred around grey mullet. They also had to recreate a classic lamb dish and produce a lemon tart – all against the clock.

Josh also had to demonstrate his skills on a butchery task and fishmonger task.

Josh admits the event was not unlike a Masterchef competition. “It can be like that – it’s just we’re a lot younger – we were all aged between 18 and 23.

“I felt ok with the pressure though, because I’ve done other competitions over the summer, of a similar standard.”

Josh grew up in Westbury, working at his parents’ restaurant Dean’s Bistro during his teenage years, before obtaining a position at the Bath Priory Hotel in a Michelin star kitchen when he left school at 16. He now works at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford, and hopes the award will be good for both him and the restaurant.

“You do get recognised and I’ve had a lot of good comments back. It’s good for your CV, and it’s good for where you’re working too,” he said.