A UWL graduate is already making her mark on the industry after cooking up a story to win her first ever contest and be named as Chaine des Rotisseurs Young Chef of the Year.

Ellie Shaw, who has been working as a Sous Chef Trainer in the kitchen of The Clink Restaurant, HMP Brixton since graduating, took the crown after impressing the judges with a three-course meal made up of mystery ingredients.

Beating two other emerging chefs in the annual culinary contest, she wowed with a grilled trout, steak and oyster mushroom pie with beer sauce, all followed by an apple and ginger crumble.

Ellie, who graduated from UWL’s London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism (LGCHT) said:

This is the first culinary competition I’ve entered and was just happy just to be selected for the final, I was certainly not expecting to win the actual title so it came as a big shock. I knew I had a lot of competition so decided to concentrate on British classics and think back to everything I learnt at university and my time working at Clink.

She will now go on to represent Great Britain in the World Championships in France next September.

James Edmunds, Dean of LGCHT, said:

This is an incredible achievement for Ellie, and we are always delighted to see our students going on to make use of the skills and industry experience which are such an important part of their learning and courses here at UWL.