Loch Ness chef wins Masters of the Menu 2026

Ammar Soeb Khumri, senior chef de partie at The Lovat Hotel on Loch Ness, has won Kraft Heinz Masters of the Menu 2026, the second edition of a competition for chefs working outside fine dining.

The live cook-off ran at CORD by Le Cordon Bleu in London on October 13, with five finalists each cooking their own version of a Heinz Hero Dish before the top two faced a mystery-box round.

A duck dish with a Korean twist

I'm incredibly proud to have won Masters of the Menu.

Khumri's winning plate was duck breast en portefeuille, with a sage-seasoned duck farce, butternut squash, pommes Anna, leeks and a Heinz Korean BBQ and pomegranate sauce, finished with a kimchi-inspired Brussels sprout salad.

"I'm incredibly proud to have won Masters of the Menu," Khumri said. Runner-up Adam Hills, head chef at Fancett's Bistro in Cambridge, took home £1,000. The other finalists were Stefan Wesley of The Moorings in Alderney, Laszlo Lukacs of the Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman's Rest, and Jacek Macienko of JM Chefs Table.

Judges James Cochran, Ian Nottage, Martin Eshelby and 2025 winner Stefan Sewell scored the five on flavour, technical execution, originality, presentation and how well each used their ingredients without waste.

A route round the Michelin circuit

The competition, run by Kraft Heinz Away From Home with chef James Cochran and the Craft Guild of Chefs, is built for cooks in hotels, pubs and independent kitchens rather than the tasting-menu rooms that dominate most chef awards, a lane AMUSE covered last month when Ruth Hansom won National Chef of the Year 2026.

Finalists spent a mentorship day at the Heinz Test Kitchen at The Shard on September 29 ahead of the final. Khumri takes home £5,000, PR support, and a supper club with Cochran at Mission Kitchen in London on November 19.

Tom Franklin, UK and Ireland director at Kraft Heinz Away From Home, said the competition exists to give chefs outside the Michelin circuit "recognition, practical support and opportunities." This is the second Masters of the Menu since its 2025 launch, and organisers say the entry pool has grown broader, with more pub and hotel kitchens applying than in its debut year.