Ballymena man nominated for Chef of the Year award

The awards, which take place at Belfast City Hall on September 13, will see Chris compete with three other Northern Irish chefs as he aims to complete a memorable 2012 by taking home the top prize.

The award nomination caps an outstanding year for Chris and his achievements at The River Room. In the last six months, the Ballymena-born chef has appeared on BBC2’s Great British Menu where he was narrowly beaten in a nail-biting final in front of a TV audience of millions.

The chef has also seen his culinary ingenuity recognised by the Restaurants Association of Ireland with The River Room being named ‘Best Hotel Restaurant’ in Northern Ireland at an awards ceremony this summer.

Chris is also about to jet across the Atlantic to take part in the ‘Right Some Good’ food festival in Canada, where he has been invited to join nine other top chefs from around the world to cook for a unique ‘Farm to Plate’ dinner.

Speaking about his nomination, Chris said: “The shortlist is decided by a public vote and I’m extremely honoured to have been chosen as one of the four finalists for the award. The nomination is a testament to the hard work being done by the entire team at The River Room and I hope to be able to bring the award back to Ballymena in September.”

Yvonne Smyth, General Manager of Galgorm Resort & Spa, said: “It’s fantastic to see all of Chris’ hard work paying off with this great award nomination. We’ll all be rooting for him and wish him all the best ahead of the big event in September.”