Rose Greene from the Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham, and Sarah Cooper from The Ledbury restaurant, London were named Young Chef and Young Waiter of the year at the 2009 Young Chef Young Waiter competition.

After a grueling day cooking and serving a meal for four people at Westminster Kingsway College, the two were named Young Chef and Young Waiter of 2009 at the presentation gala dinner held at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower before an audience of industry celebrities.

It was Rose's second attempt to win - last year she came second in the competition.

Second were chef Jenny Thoden from The Church Green Restaurant, Lymme in Cheshire and waiter Peter Saunders from Northcote, Blackburn.

Third were chef Shaun Dickens, L'Ortolan, Reading and Julie Doig, Gordon Ramsay and Claridge's, London.

The winners were presented with a silver salver by Michael Winner, the restaurant columnist.

Eight chefs and eight waiters won through to the finals from regional heats in the north and the south. In the finals, waiters and chefs were paired and worked as team. Each chef was given a basket of surprise ingredients and had to cook a three course lunch of their own choosing from the ingredients provided for a table of four invited industry guests. The meal was served by one of the waiter finalists.

Chef competitors were judged on their choice of menu, on their skill and ability in cooking the meal, and on their timing. Waiter competitors were judged on their skill in serving the meal, on their customer contact skills and on the professionalism of their wine service.

Chairman of the panel of TOP chef judges was Bruce Poole, (Chez Bruce, London) and chairman of the waiters' judging panel was Stephen Mannock from the National Skills Academy for Hospitality.

Headline sponsor for the competition this year, organised by The Restaurant Association and the British Hospitality Association, was von Essen Hotels.

Two of von Essen's collection of 28 luxury country house hotels - Seaham Hall in Co Durham and Cliveden in Berkshire - were the venues for the northern and southern regional waiters' competitions. It was the first time in the competition's 25 year history that the waiters provided a full lunch service to invited guests, under the eye of a panel of judges; previously they undertook specific tasks before the judges.

Andrew Davis, Chairman and Founder of von Essen hotels commented: "As a member of the BHA, we are delighted to be supporting this very important competition as headline sponsor.

"Competition was stronger than ever this year and the talented under-25s had to perform to an exceptional standard to make it through to the prestigious national final. Having witnessed the excellent standard of candidates we have no doubt that this competition really does reward and encourage the stars of the future both in the kitchen and front of house."

Chairman of The Restaurant Association, Bob Walton, said that he was delighted with the standard achieved this year, which was "higher than ever."

"All these competitors had an extraordinary talent and we should be proud of them. Once again, Young Chef Young Waiter continues to highlight the skills and professionalism of the youngsters now making a career in the industry. They represent a very bright future for the industry."

Mr Walton added that the sponsorship of von Essen hotels and the continuing long-standing support of the Savoy Educational Trust, HSBC, Sodexo, S.Pellegrino and Wild Harvest, together with new sponsors for 2009, Laurent Perrier and Matthew Clark, highlighted the importance of the competition in the industry.

The chef regional finals were held at Darlington College and Thames Valley University, Ealing.

The full list of competitors:

CHEFS

Shaun Dickens, L'Ortolan restaurant, Reading. Rose Greene, Le Champignon Sauvage, Cheltenham.

Nicholas Hill, The Ledbury, London W11 Lahiru Jayasekara, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, New Milton, Oxford

Andrew McFadden, Pied a Terre, London W1 Mark Stinchcombe, Lucknam Park, Chippenham, Wilts

Jenny Thoden, The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire Eliza Thomas, Jackson Gilmour, Croydon

WAITERS

Matthew Balman, Gidleigh Park, Chagford, Devon Daniel Campbell, Number One Restaurant, Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh

Sarah Cooper, The Ledbury, London W11 Julie Doig, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, W1

Marco Fusato, The Ritz, London W1 Catherine Hudson, The Longridge Restaurant, Preston

Harald Prock, Mosimann's, London Peter Saunders, Northcote, Blackburn

Photograph: Left to right: Peter Saunders (Northcote), Shaun Dickens (L'Ortolan), Rose Greene (Le Champignon Sauvage), Julie Doig (Gordon Ramsay's at Claridge's), Sarah Cooper (The Ledbury) and Jenny Thoden (The Church Green, Lymme, Cheshire).