Hamish Pearce wins M Restaurants Young Chef of the Year

A 22 year old chef from Hackney restaurant Pidgin has been announced as M Restaurants Young Chef of the Year.

Hamish Pearce won the award for his pop-up inside the Hackney restaurant last month, during a ceremony held at M Restaurants flagship site in Victoria.

Pearce said: “It’s an incredible thing for young chefs, it gives you the opportunity to take over a restaurant for a night. It’s amazing the trust they have in young chefs, to have them like that in their restaurant. I’m so excited to see what they do next year.

“A lot of the dishes I picked from things I’ve worked on in a lot of the restaurants I’ve been in, things I’ve loved and now put my own twist on.”

Competition judge, Michael Reid, said: “It wasn’t easy, the standard of all the contestants was seriously high and I was genuinely blown away by some of the cooking. Hamish, however, gave us the full package. He certainly gave his diners an experience they will remember, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Other winners on the night included Jamie Gardener of Tower Bridge’s Coal Shed, who took home the award for Outstanding Menu and Adebayo Folarin of the Opera Tavern, who scooped the Best Marketeer award.