Following the success of the eight young chefs and eight waiters who recently fought their way through to the finals in what is one of the toughest of all culinary competitions; we have now crowned the young chef and young waiter for 2009.

My congratulations go to our winning chef, Rose Greene and to our winning waiter, Sarah Cooper on their tremendous achievement.

The BHA could not run this illustrious competition without help from sponsors and with this in mind I would like to thank them all, especially our headline sponsor this year, von Essen hotels.

It was von Essen that took the competition in a new direction in 2009 by providing a real restaurant in which our waiters in the regional finals could practice their skills and be judged in a real-life situation. So Seaham Hall in the north and Cliveden in the south, for the first time in the competition's 25-year-old history, became the venues for waiters serving a three course meal to paying guests - previously, something only undertaken at the national finals.

So those who got to the finals this year survived not only the heat of the kitchen but the very real challenges of the restaurant.

But there is another reason to be pleased about the competition, What is so gratifying about the finalists - indeed, about the restaurant industry in general - is that so many of the young chefs working their way up the ladder are talented, skilful, committed - and British-born and British-trained.

Whereas, years ago, it would have been commonplace to see many continental youngsters in the competition, in recent times, the vast majority of those competing are British. The industry should take heart over this.

We are often told that the industry can't attract the right kind of person; that parents and careers teachers discourage young people from entering the industry because of its image of hard work and long hours.

Yet Young Chef Young Waiter belies this. All the finalists (which include 5 girls) have shown huge talent and considerable strength to get so far. Two have reached the national finals this year for the second time, so committed are they to winning the competition. Rose Greene, this year's young chef being one of those two competitors.

We should acknowledge their efforts, just as we should recognize that the restaurant industry now has such a wealth of extraordinary British talent. Look in any guide book and you'll find not only well known names such as Paul Heathcote, Marcus Wareing (himself a former YCYW winner), Phil Howard (The Square, London) and Bruce Poole (chairman of the YCYW chef judges) but others such as Nathan Outlaw in Fowey, Michael North in Murcot, Oxfordshire, Tom Kerridge in Marlow, Adam Simmonds (also in Marlow), Jason Atherton at The Maze in London, Lisa Allen (Northcote) - the list of rising and accomplished British chefs could go on and on.

The renaissance of the British restaurant industry, now fully underway, has been led - and continues to be led - by British talent and has developed the restaurant industry into what it is - world class.

There's no doubt that competitions like Young Chef Young Waiter have played their part in encouraging and nurturing this talent. The industry's future reputation partly rests on the young shoulders of these very able and totally committed competitors. We should be proud of what they have achieved - and what they will undoubtedly achieve in the future.