Maids Head Hotel Norwich Head Chef in Semi-Final of National Chef of the Year Competition

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny, Head Chef at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich and Chef of the Year in the EDP Norfolk Food and Drink Awards 2016, has reached the semi-final of the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year competition.  

Marcin 'Magic' Pomierny - photo Maids Head Hotel

Forty chefs, split into four semi-final heats, will be competing this month for a place in the final. The winner of each heat, plus the six best runners up, go through to the final which is at The Restaurant Show on Wednesday, October 2.

Magic’s semi-final heat is at Le Cordon Bleu in London on Tuesday, June 19.  The brief for the chefs is to create a menu, which focuses on the provenance of the food and gives a modern interpretation on classic dishes.    

Magic, who was a finalist in the 2008 Craft Guild of Chefs Young Chef of the Year competition said: “I am really excited to have reached the semi-final of the National Chef of the Year competition. The menu that I will be cooking on June 19 will feature English dishes using the best of East Anglian produce. I will do my very best to secure a place in the final for the Maids Head and Norwich.”  

Christine Malcolm, General Manager, Maids Head Hotel said: “Magic has worked very hard over the last five years to raise the profile of the hotel as a fine dining destination. We achieved a second AA Rosette in 2016 and Magic’s ambition is to raise the bar further and achieve a third AA Rosette. His summer a la carte menu has just been released this week, offering an excellent opportunity for hotel guests and local residents to sample Magic and his team’s current work.”

 “We wish Magic all the best for the National Chef of the Year competition,” added Christine Malcolm, “and will have our fingers firmly crossed.”    

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny comes from near Krakow in Poland. He trained as a chef in Poland and studied catering for diabetics as an additional subject. Magic moved to Norwich in June 2005; his brother and sister were already in the city.

He spoke little English at the time and his family helped secure him a job as a kitchen porter at Tatlers, where he did washing up and food preparation for one year. Then Magic worked for Pulse and The Library for 18 months, followed by McIntoshes Kitchen for another 18 months. 

His next job in 2009 was Sous Chef at Rare Steak House and he moved on to The Mad Moose where he was Sous Chef for two years and Head Chef for one year. Magic arrived at the Maids Head Hotel as Sous Chef in May 2013 and was promoted to Head Chef in September 2013.