Member Article

Chef of the Year announced at NECTA

As the two day festival of cookery skills and regional culinary talent came to an end, the final event saw the presentation of the prestigious NECTA North East Chef of the Year award. This years’ winner is Gabor Pustzai from the Duke of Wellington gastropub near Corbridge.

Fine Dining and Restaurant Guides publisher Relish Publications sponsored this years North East Culinary & Trade Association (NECTA) 2 day Salon Culinaire on the 8th and 9th May 2013. The event featured colleges from across the region competing to demonstrate the significant and diverse range of skills needed to work in a professional kitchen. Relish specifically supported the gala event on the 9th May 2013, when Gabor Pusztai was presented as the NECTA Chef of the Year 2013 by Duncan Peters from Relish Publications.

The NECTA event is now an established part of the North East culinary sector and is well respected by all colleges and the fast growing range of fine dining establishments across the region. The two day event at Newcastle Civic Centre attracts a national audience who come to the region to see the new and emerging talent which is at the heart of the region. Relish Publications who will be launching the next edition of their series of fine dining and restaurant guide ‘Relish North East and Yorkshire’ in early Summer 2013 wanted to throw their full support behind the event, and provide a unique opportunity for the talented NECTA chef of the year.

Gabor Pustzai is 36 years old and originates from Keszthely in the South of Hungary. He lives in Jesmond and started out working in the restaurant of the George Hotel in Jesmond, before cooking stints at Blackfrairs in Newcastle, the Fisherman’s Lodge in Jesmond, Seaham Hall with Kenny Atkinson in its Michelin star days, the Black Horse gastropub in Beamish and the Grosvenor Casino in Newcastle.

Gabor Pustzai is now the Head Chef at The Duke of Wellington Inn, which has recently re-opened after a refit. Before this Gabor worked at Copenhagen’s famous two Michelin-star restaurant in Noma in Copenhagen, which is officially rated the world’s best restaurant. He spent 5 weeks there as a volunteer, working 16 hour days.

Duncan Peters from Relish Publications commented: ‘We wanted to work alongside NECTA this year and recognise the contribution of this body to the development of our fine dining sector. Many of the chefs featured in our existing Relish cook books have started their careers in these FE colleges learning the essential skills which are required by all professional chefs.’

‘We also wanted to reward Gabor Pustzai who has now been crowned the chef of the year, and so have offered an exclusive 2 page insertion in our forthcoming Relish North East and Yorkshire book, to showcase the NECTA event and the winner of this prestigious award. This is a fantastic achievement for a talented individual chef from our region, and demonstrates the outstanding culinary flair being brought through in our many fine dining establishments.’

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Relish Publications .