Finalists chosen for the Spanish Young Chef of the Year competition cook off

The nine chefs, including students and those already working in the food industry, going through to the cook off, are: Esme Broadbent, City College Norwich Ben Murphy, Koffmann's at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge Samantha Bream, College Llandrillo William Chilila, The Orrery Restaurant Daniel Lee, Westminster Kingsway College Bartosz Kesik, Opera Tavern Restaurant Anna Gurowska, University of West London Billy Stock, Salt Yard Restaurant Joseph Allen, Westminster Kingsway College The winner will take up a sought after working placement in the kitchens of Akelaŕe – one of Spain's best Michelin starred restaurants – during 2012. The final takes place at Westminster Kingsway College (WKC) in London on January 21 and will be judged by a panel including Foods from Spain director María José Sevilla, chef and author Peter Gordon, president of the Guild of Food Writers Jane Suthering, and WKC chef lecturer José Souto. Last year's winner, chef Mandie Kruger from The Opera Tavern in London, will take up her training placement at Akelaŕe in January. The two previous winners, David Alun Powell and Selin Kiazim, both trained in the kitchen at Feran Adrià's El Bulli in 2009 and 2010 respectively after winning the competition. Foods from Spain launched the first Spanish Young Chef of the Year competition in 2008 to inspire talented young chefs to explore and experiment with the exciting variety of seasonal Spanish fresh produce and create memorable dishes. The competition is part of the campaign to promote Spanish produce in the UK throughout the year, including Picota cherries, persimmon, strawberries and raspberries.