Pub chef wins Tilda Chef of the Year award

Simpson was one of 10 chefs competing in the competition where a two-course meal needed to be prepared, cooked and presented in less than one hour, showing off the versatility of rice and their flair for world cuisine.

The chefs were tasked with serving Tilda Rice in both the main course and dessert to impress a panel of judges at the bi-annual competition run in association with the Craft Guild of Chefs.

Simpson’s winning dishes comprised of Dublin bay prawns and shellfish risotto, cockle beignets and tarragon pangritata for main followed by a dessert of coconut and jasmine rice pudding soufflé, salted honeycomb and pineapple granita.

Simpson said he was “very shocked” at the judges verdict.

“In fact, it took quite a while for the news to sink in because I just didn’t expect it, but it’s a real honour to get this great accolade from Tilda,” Simpson said.

Tilda’s head of foodservice Mark Lyddy said: “Ian proved a worthy winner in what was once again a very competitive event which shows the quality of the cooking talent working in the hospitality industry.

“Ian delivered on all counts with a two-course meal that was absolutely sensational - particularly bearing in mind the severe time constraints he and all other competitors were under.”

Tilda Chef of the Year 2014 was staged as part of Salon Culinaire at Hotelympia in East London's ExCel Centre.