Everyone from an outstanding chef at West Bromwich Albion FC to a star in the making at The Ivy Restaurant has won a place in the coveted Craft Guild of Chefs hall of fame.
The winners of the 2013 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards, now in their 20th year, were announced at a glittering ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair on Monday 10 June, with Royal Patron HRH Countess of Wessex presenting the awards.
Craft Guild of Chefs vice president and awards organiser Steve Munkley said it really was a privilege to hand over each award in a year which saw an unprecedented calibre of nominees in 14 categories judged by an industry panel, and one – the People’s Choice Award – decided by an online public forum.
James martin receives Special Award
A 16th award is presented to someone the committee of the Craft Guild of Chefs deems to have made an outstanding contribution to the industry. To celebrate the 20th year of the awards, the 19 previous winners were showcased at the start of the ceremony.
This year’s Special Award, sponsored by Sodexo, went to James Martin, who has made a huge impression on the industry and with consumers during his 20 year career as a chef, businessman, author of nine books, and, of course, TV presenter on Saturday Kitchen.
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards aim to reward leading lights from across the industry, whether they work in a village pub, fine dining restaurant, city university, a military unit or in contract catering. They might even be development chefs for national retailers.
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2013 winners are:
Apprentice Chef Award – Ruth Hansom, Boundary Restaurant
Armed Services Chef Award – Cpl Alun Davies, Catering Team RAF Squadron
Banqueting & Event Chef Award – Michael Bullard, West Bromwich Albion FC
Chef Lecturer Award – Patricia Paskins, University of West London
Competition Chef Award – Javier Mercado, Le Cordon Bleu
Contract Catering Chef Award – Darren Thompson, Sodexo
Cost Sector Chef Award – Rob Bean, University of Leicester
Development Chef Award – Andy Twells, Eurest Instore
Ethnic Chef Award – Giorgio Locatelli, Locanda Locatelli
New Restaurant of the Year Award – Lima
Pastry Chef Award – Andrew Ditchfield, House of Commons
People’s Choice Award – Simon Boyle, Brigade/Beyond Food Foundation
Pub Restaurant Chef Award – Stosie Madi, Parkers Arms
Restaurant Chef Award – Pascal Aussignac, Gascon Connection
Special Award – James Martin, The Talbot Hotel
Young Chef Award – April Partridge, The Ivy Restaurant
The following past winners of the Special Award were present at the awards and invited up on stage to be recognised by the audience:
Peter Griffths
Paul Gayler
Brian Turner
Anton Mosimann
Omero Gallucci
Anton Edelmann
David Foskett
Albert Roux
Stephen Scuffell
Pierre Koffmann
Philip Howard
Cyrus Todiwala
For more information click here