Who Were the Winners at the 2016 Craft Guild of Chefs Awards?
Often referred to as the ‘Chefs Oscars’, the annual Craft Guild of Chefs Awards recognises and rewards the most outstanding talent in the culinary industry. With 17 awards in total covering a broad range of industry sectors, the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards are one of the most significant events in the industry calendar, and this year’s awards took place on 1st June at the elegant Lancaster Hotel in London.
We are all ready for the arrival of our guests this evening @lancasterlondon #CGCawards pic.twitter.com/tIdnur5i2q
— Craft Guild of Chefs (@Craft_Guild) 1 June 2016
800 prominent names from across the culinary industry were in attendance at the glamorous Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2016 ceremony, in which guests were treated to a delicious dinner and live music before the winners were announced. The top prizes on offer included the Special Award, the publicly voted People’s Choice, and New Restaurant of the Year, but every award was highly sought-after and competition was especially tough. Let’s find out who proudly took home the prizes at this year’s event.
The ones to watch: Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2016 winners
Stunning room setting for tonight's #CGCawards Have an amazing evening everyone and good luck chefs! pic.twitter.com/OdG14mAi4a— Craft Guild of Chefs (@Craft_Guild) 1 June 2016
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards seek to celebrate the very best chefs across the diverse culinary industry. They include awards to recognise the best Armed Service Chef, which was scooped by Richard Geenhalgh at the Royal Air Force, the most exemplary Apprentice Chef, won this year by Eleanor De Maria at Eurest, and the leading Ethnic Chef, which was awarded to Chad Rahman at Chez Mumtaj.
The Young Chef award was won this year by Arthur Quin at Punch Bowl Inn & Restaurant Crosthwaite; this same award was won back in 2013 by April Lily Partridge, who some of you may recognise from her culinary demonstrations at Lockhart's The Show event in 2015.
Pride of place #proudaspunch #CGCAwardsA photo posted by The White Spoon (@whitespoonchelt) on
There are also awards for exceptional restaurants, and this year the Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds was commended with an Innovation award for its unique approach to a luxury ‘staycation’ style resort which was opened in summer 2015. The New Restaurant of the Year award was given to The White Spoon in Cheltenham, which triumphed over strong competition to be recognised for its dedication to use of local produce in innovative dishes.
One of the most eagerly anticipated awards of the night, the Special Award, was presented to Michelin-starred chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin, owners of several restaurants including Galvin at Windows and Galvin La Chapelle, both of which earned them their stars.
Chris and Jeff Galvin were chosen as the Special Award winners at last night's Craft Guild of Chefs Awards at a glittering ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel. Huge congratulations from the team in Edinburgh! #cgcawards #galvinrestaurants #specialaward #award #chef #cheflife #hospitality #restaurantsA photo posted by Galvin Restaurants - Edinburgh (@galvins_edinburgh) on
However, it was executive chef of Sodexo and head chef of catering at Everton Football Club, Gareth Billington who won arguably the evening’s most prestigious award, the People’s Choice. Voted for online by over 1000 people, Gareth was deservedly recognised for his involvement with Springboard’s FutureChef young chef competition, having mentored four national finalists, three of whom went on to win the FutureChef title – including the winner of FutureChef 2016, Bethan Disley-Jones.
To watch the highlights from the event, take a look at the fabulous video below:
The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2016 winners in full
Below is the full list of winners and sponsors from the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2016.- Apprentice Chef- Eleanor De Maria, Demi Chef de Partie at Eurest (sponsored by Compass Group)
- Armed Service Chef- Richard Geenhalgh, Flight Sergeant Junior Ranks Mess at Royal Air Force (sponsored by Purple Foodservice Solutions)
- Banqueting/Event Chef- James Buckley, Executive Chef at Levy Restaurants (sponsored by Essential Cuisine)
- Chef Lecturer- John Crowe, Lecturer in Hospitality at North West Regional College - Ireland (sponsored by Fresh Montgomery)
- Competition Chef- Robert Kennedy, Executive Chef at Sandhurst Military College (sponsored by Santa Maria)
- Contract Catering Chef- Stuart Nisbet, Offer Development Chef at Elior UK (sponsored by Kerry Foods)
- Development Chef- Diane Camp, Development Chef at Reynolds Catering Supplies Ltd (sponsored by McCain Foods)
- Ethnic Chef- Chad Rahman, Executive Chef at Chez Mumtaj (sponsored by Nayati)
- Innovation- Soho Farmhouse (sponsored by Jestic)
- New Restaurant of the Year- Chris White, Chef Director at The White Spoon (sponsored by Jelf Insurance)
- Pastry Chef- Stephen Tarling, Head Pastry Chef at Daylesford Organic (sponsored by Carpigiani UK)
- People’s Choice- Gareth Billington, Executive Chef at Sodexo UK & Ireland (sponsored by Nisbets)
- Pub Restaurant Chef- James Mackenzie, Chef/Proprietor at The Pipe & Glass Inn (sponsored by Bidvest Foodservice)
- Public Sector Chef- Scott Pring, Executive Head Chef at Bridgewater College (sponsored by Theos Food Company)
- Restaurant Chef- Will Holland, Head Chef at Coast Restaurant (sponsored by Gram UK)
- Young Chef- Arthur Quin, Sous Chef at Punch Bowl Inn & Restaurant Crosthwaite (sponsored by Falcon Williams)
- Special Award- Galvin Brothers (sponsored by Sodexo)
Congrats and we give you @Craft_Guild winners #CGCawards #2016 pic.twitter.com/8X3pfTpmDd
— Graham Hornigold (@ghornigold) 1 June 2016
Our sincere congratulations to all of the winners, and we look forward to next year! We’d love to hear your thoughts on the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards 2016, as well as who you think will scoop a prize next year. Leave us a comment below to join the discussion.