‘It was a massive confidence booster,’ says Northamptonshire’s Young Chef of the Year

24-year-old Hannah Dunne (pictured) has been working at wood fired restaurant, Ember, for just over a year, but has been in the food and drink industry for around seven.

24-year-old Hannah Dunne, who works at Ember, took home the top spot

Northamptonshire’s ‘Young Chef of the Year’, who was crowned at this year’s Weetabix Food and Drink Awards, says “the win has been a massive confidence booster”.

Hannah Dunne has been working at wood fired restaurant, Ember, in Wellingborough for just over a year, but has been in the food and drink industry for around seven.

The 24-year-old, who lives in Northampton town centre, bagged the top spot in her category and was there at the ceremony to accept her award.

Hannah said: “It feels amazing to have won and is a really great opportunity.

“I’m so grateful and it’s exciting to see what the future holds.”

Working with a multitude of chefs has encouraged Hannah to be creative with her food, which she was able to showcase in the competition – where she had to design a dish on the spot.

At the cook-off against the four other finalists, Hannah put together garlic butter stuffed guinea fowl breast, potato fondant, honey mustard guinea fowl croquette, carrot braised in red wine, and a chorizo reduction.

Hannah studied at catering college while working as a kitchen porter at a local restaurant, before moving around and working up to her junior sous chef position.

“I’d tell any young chefs to not be afraid and just go for it,” said Hannah. “It will pay off and it’ll change you for the better.”

The Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards ceremony gave Hannah the opportunity to meet other chefs, network, and learn more about what they all do – which she really enjoyed.

Full list of winners at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2021

Talking to the Chronicle & Echo ahead of the final earlier this month, Hannah said: “As a shy teenager, the first thing that brought me out of my shell was learning to cook.

“I have built my knowledge over a number of years in different settings, but to have gotten this far in the awards has been my greatest achievement.”

Hannah wanted to use the competition to “show how far she has come in her passion for food and her job” – and to win was the icing on the cake.

Moving forward, the 24-year-old would like to branch out into fine dining and believes her win will allow her to take that step.