Two MasterChef: The Professionals alumni have made it to the final of the Scottish Chef of the Year competition 2015.
Adam Handling, who reached the final of the 2013 show, and Jamie Scott, who won the most recent series, will compete against six other top chefs for a chance of being crowned Scottish Chef of the Year.
Andrew Laycock, from Wilde Thyme in Comrie; Craig Gibb of Ordge Food Company in Kelso, Houston House Hotel's Robbie Penman; Alex Thain, who works at Andy Murray's Cromlix House; Zoltan Szabo of Cameron House Hotel and New College Lanarkshire's Dougal McPherson have also made the short list.
Each competitor has three-and-a-half hours to cook and present a four-course meal for four covers to some of Scotland's toughest culinary judges. The final will take place live in front of an industry audience at the ScotHot Exhibition on 5 March 2015 in a purpose built theatre at the SECC.
Soraya Gadelrab, event director at ScotHot, said: "The quality of this year's finalists for the Scottish Chef of the Year award is outstanding and truly reflects the levels within the catering and hospitality business in Scotland.
"At ScotHot, we work with a huge range of industry representatives to showcase the very best standards in a bid to keep raising the game.
"As part of this, I can't wait to welcome the finalists to ScotHot 2015 at the SECC on 4th and 5th March. I know the finalists will put on a real spectacle for visitors to Scotland's biggest trade event for the food, tourism, catering and hospitality industries."
Previous Scottish Chefs of the year have gone on to become well-known figures in the Scottish hospitality industry and include Kevin McGillivray, regional executive chef, MacDonald Hotels; Willie Deans at Lets Eat in Perth; and Bruce Sangster, owner of the Michelin-starred Sangster's in Elie.
2014's Scottish Chef of the Year was David Littlewood, owner of the Kildrummy Inn in Alford.
He said: "I entered the competition more for personal development than financial gain, as competing at this level requires a lot of hard work, focus and discipline. That said, winning gave me - and my bank manager - the confidence to start my own successful business. Winning the competition has raised my profile as a chef and has helped tremendously in terms of marketing and driving business."
The Scottish Chef of the Year is awarded by the Federation of Chefs Scotland and is the only Scottish competition where all eight finalists compete in front of an audience of their peers.
The judging process involves scrutiny of the chefs throughout their preparation of their four-course menu. Nothing gets past the judges, every piece of food coming into the kitchen is checked and the judges are present in the kitchen throughout the competition.
They follow the guidelines of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS), ensuring that competitors maintain the highest standards and that the chefs are judged to a global standard. Top Scottish chefs, including Andrew Fairlie and Bruce Sangster, have previously judged the competition last year's final was judged by Albert Roux.
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